Which of these are piracy in your opinion?

[paperfist]

There was this amazing thought in the early 19th century that IP should become public domain after a period of shorter than 75 years or more (see Disney's stance on copyright). IMO, if lifesaving drugs become public domain for generic production within 7 years of the original patent, then what is so substantially good about Mickey Mouse that he gets the 75 year or more protective treatment?

At the time Disney was worth more then what drug makers were doing.

It's a pretty silly stance to say I'm a pirate if I let someone borrow my game because it's hurting some game companies bottom line. Maybe they should get into another business...

If I buy a car and let someone borrow it I don't hear GM crying the blues. If I sell it and buy another one GM misses out on the sale of the car for the second time (NYS of course does not). I think in the end if something you borrow is so good you end up buying yourself one, no?

 

[nemesismk2]

I think piracy is hurting the games industry. I have purchased all of my software and I don't see why people should be let off using pirate software. If you can't afford the latest games then get a better paid job. That is why I think more of an effort should be made by the police to target all sites offering cracks and pirate software.

Is it piracy to let a friend borrow a game?

Yes they should buy their own

Is it piracy to download and emulate an old long lost console game that you once paid full price for?

Yes

Is it piracy to burn backup copies of games you already own?

No because you are allowed to make one backup copy just incase the cd gets too scratched to be used.

Is it piracy to let a friend use your Steam account to play games?

Yes this is piracy and is against the rules of your steam account which you have agreed to.

Is it piracy to burn a copy of a game and let a friend borrow that to play?

Yes this is piracy because you should of given him your original copy.

 

[Zebo]

I buy every game I play . It's only right to since I would not like working for free and I get enjoyment from it.

Is it piracy to let a friend borrow a game?
No, so long as you don't have it installed too. That's like saying I can't lend friends a CD.

Is it piracy to download and emulate an old long lost console game that you once paid full price for?
Yes. But I'd do it anyway if no longer for sale and I had to play.

Is it piracy to burn backup copies of games you already own?
No, so long as it's a 'backup' not a 'loaner'

Is it piracy to let a friend use your Steam account to play games?
No.

Is it piracy to burn a copy of a game and let a friend borrow that to play?
Yes.

 

[WildW]

Is it piracy to let a friend borrow a game?

Yes they should buy their own


Is it piracy to burn a copy of a game and let a friend borrow that to play?

Yes this is piracy because you should of given him your original copy.

Slightly contradictory, unless I'm reading it wrong. Do you (and anyone else who thinks lending is wrong) honestly believe that lending a game to a friend is wrong? I'm seriously curious. . . do you think it's wrong to lend anything to people, or are games somehow special compared with DVDs/Books/Lawnmowers/anything?

I realise that in the perfect world people would buy their own and this would support developers, I appreciate that point of view. But just because it's good to support the developers it doesn't make lending == stealing, right?

 

[Maximilian]

I think piracy is hurting the games industry. I have purchased all of my software and I don't see why people should be let off using pirate software. If you can't afford the latest games then get a better paid job. That is why I think more of an effort should be made by the police to target all sites offering cracks and pirate software.

Is it piracy to let a friend borrow a game?

Yes they should buy their own

Is it piracy to download and emulate an old long lost console game that you once paid full price for?

Yes

Is it piracy to burn backup copies of games you already own?

No because you are allowed to make one backup copy just incase the cd gets too scratched to be used.

Is it piracy to let a friend use your Steam account to play games?

Yes this is piracy and is against the rules of your steam account which you have agreed to.

Is it piracy to burn a copy of a game and let a friend borrow that to play?

Yes this is piracy because you should of given him your original copy.

Glad im not your friend :/

 

[nemesismk2]

Glad im not your friend :/

I bet if you had spent years programming shareware games and then found that pirates were giving your games away for free it would change your mind about piracy.

 

[nemesismk2]

I'm seriously curious. . . do you think it's wrong to lend anything to people, or are games somehow special compared with DVDs/Books/Lawnmowers/anything?

I lend other things to people but consider games to be different because I was around when piracy was at it's worst with the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga. Seeing people get games I had created for free forced me to stop programming games. I can see PC gaming having a similar death especially considering the great console game sales compared to the PC.

 

[exar333]

I don't see any poll options...

 

[dguy6789]

The poll was lost when the forum changed software.

 

[exar333]

Is it piracy to let a friend borrow a game?

No, as long as it is not installed on your machine. You own the game, you can sell/borrow as long as it isn't used concurrently.

Is it piracy to download and emulate an old long lost console game that you once paid full price for?

Yes, assuming you don't own it anymore. If the game is in your possession, then I would say it is OK.

Is it piracy to burn backup copies of games you already own?

No because it is in your rights to make a backup if the original is damaged. Increased piracy is somewhat of a "side effect" of making games harder to copy, because you make it more difficult to make a legal copy as well. I am sure many people have downloaded pirated versions of games due to damaged original copies.

Is it piracy to let a friend use your Steam account to play games?

Yes, and I don't believe the terms of service for Steam allow this.

Is it piracy to burn a copy of a game and let a friend borrow that to play?

Yes, unless the original is damaged AND not installed elsewhere.

The poll was lost when the forum changed software.

My bad, see above.

 

[KMFJD]

I lend other things to people but consider games to be different because I was around when piracy was at it's worst with the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga. Seeing people get games I had created for free forced me to stop programming games. I can see PC gaming having a similar death especially considering the great console game sales compared to the PC.

How do you feel about places like Blockbuster etc that rent video games? I know they only rent console games. That would have to be down right infuriating for you, they purchase a couple copies of your work, then make money renting it out to the public.

 

[BenSkywalker]

What if I buy the 360 version of Gears of War, play it a little bit, then take it back and get my money back, buy the PC version of Gears of War and play that for a bit. That's perfectly legal and perfectly acceptable morally. How is that any different from the above multi platform question? The developer gets the same amount of money from me in both scenarios and I get to play the game on either platform in both scenarios.

The problem with this is very differing business models used in the gaming industry. While that scenario wouldn't be screwing with anything if you were doing it between say a Mac and a PC, if you own a PC copy of the game and then pirate it for the 360 MS is losing their royalties on that title. If you like or dislike the console business model, the fact that Sony and MS sell their consoles for a loss to break even levels and then recoup their money on software sales is how that industry is run.

BTW- The line of thought that if you buy something you then own the IP, besides being utterly moronic, is also profoundly dangerous. Long term, that could kill billions of people early(I bought my prescription, so now I own the IP on the drug- where are R&D dollars going to go). Very ignorant people may not understand the need to protect IP, but it is essential in an advanced capitalist society. Could we be doing better then we are now? Most certainly, but getting rid of legal protection for IP has to be in the running for the stupidest things we could do as a society long term.

 

[crownjules]

How do you feel about places like Blockbuster etc that rent video games? I know they only rent console games. That would have to be down right infuriating for you, they purchase a couple copies of your work, then make money renting it out to the public.

That's not how it works. Blockbuster, Netflix, or any rental business pays an upfront cost much higher than normal retail pricing to reflect the lost sales from rental availability.

 

[nemesismk2]

How do you feel about places like Blockbuster etc that rent video games? I know they only rent console games. That would have to be down right infuriating for you, they purchase a couple copies of your work, then make money renting it out to the public.

I think blockbuster pay quite a bit more for each game they stock but I could be wrong. I wouldn't let them rent out any of my games unless they gave me loads of money.

 

[Modelworks]

If you use the product in any way that the owner of the content forbid when you purchased it, then it is wrong. As long as their terms were clear before you purchased then you had the choice to either accept their terms and buy it or not.

If you download something illegally then what you did was wrong even if it would not have cost the owner of the IP money. They produced the IP and set the rules for that content. Who is anyone else to say what rules apply ? IP isn't usually a life or death situation so people have a choice to accept the rules or walk away, it isn't a right to get a game, movie, music, etc. The current thinking with people has become, I want item A and if they don't give it to me on my terms I will take it.

As long as the owner of the IP is clear about the terms before the sale I have no problem with them putting any restriction on anything they sell. I have a choice, accept or not buy the product.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

This thread kind of lost it's oomph with the switch to vb and the loss of the poll...heh...