Discussing Release 1.3.1x

If downloading itself is legal, then the person who downloaded something shouldn't be held responsible but the country that allowed the download in the first place.

@Whitestar
Copyright/Trademark Ownership
The Toyota name and logos, as well as Toyota model names, are trademarks of TMC. The Toyota logos may not be used, downloaded, copied, or distributed in any way.

Hm, call the police?

 

As individuals, we are held accountable by our actions. This user made a conscious decision to steal software using a well known method. Justifying this choice because a country facilitates and/or encourages this practice is not acceptable.

 

When I was 10 I stole sweets from the local shop. At uni (20+ years ago) I downloaded two games illegally. Ripped a few DVDs too. I knew what I was doing but I didn’t ‘know’ what I was doing.
After working as a software developer for a licensing and copy protection company, I completely changed. Heck I even own two copies of ACC.
There is a chance for redemption.
In some countries unfortunately this is endemic.
And IMO the state is an accomplice. Because people don’t grow up in isolation and the countries I am talking about are not the pinnacle of human rights.

 

This is completely incorrect. Downloading pirated software is not legal in ANY country. However there are many countries where the laws are not enforced at all, or as you say "tolerated".

 

Downloading is legal in Switzerland, Poland and Spain.

 

What about the use or the downloaded content ?

 

File sharing is not illegal , but using stolen software is, so if you share a file knowing that it contains stolen/copyrighted content, then you can be prosecuted , if you down load software that you know is stolen it may not be a crime , but if you use it , it is. However its wrong whether you think its justified or not

 

Hypothetical question

Would you guys feel it as offensive/unethical if someone buys a title trough regular means and regular price, but then uses a crack to play and bypass Steam, UPlay, or whatever else these numerous systems are called?

 

.. oh that reminds me, my porn gold membership is due in a couple of days..

 

I'm not advocating for allowing games to be pirated, I'm just saying different countries have different rules whether you like it or not.

I just think there's hypocrisy in what a lot of people here are saying. I'm sure not everyone of you has paid for every song you have ever listened to for free on YouTube, I'm sure not everyone of you has paid for every porn movie you ever watched, I'm sure not everyone of you has even paid for the pictures you're using as profile pics. I see pictures of Toyota, Monthy Python, Star Wars... most likely all of which has copyright on it.

Where in lies the difference? Does this mean everything should be illegal? In my opinion, no.

 

No sir, piracy is against the law here in Spain.

 

It depends what's in the eula - if you break it using the method you've stated, then it's illegal. Being offended or thinking it's unethical is irrelevant in the eyes of the law.

I don't think any of us can claim we've never watched, listened or played something we shouldn't have, the difference is that this particular individual claims he did nothing wrong and then tried to justify his action.

That type of mentality should always be challenged - why should I pay for something if someone else thinks they can get it for free?

Btw I made my profile pic, so no copyright infringement here .

 

Not according to the internet

He didn't even realize he did something wrong, can barely blame him for it.

 

Of course. Then you are the source of the problem, and to whoever does it, I hope his PC burns out

 

Can you explain that, because I feel we're not talking about the same thing. How is someone who downloads a crack to play a legitimate purchased game a "source of the problem"?

 

Mmm, sorry, I think I misread it as uploading the craked version for others to use it.
Now that I've read well your post, I don't know what to say, I don't know why it would be beneficial to bypass Steam, or how is it done

 

He was using a well know piracy technique to circumnavigate steam verification.

With respect I believe he knew exactly what he was doing and he should be called out, especially on the very forum of the company he stole from.

 

Another concept being overlooked is the L in EULA - License.

Nowadays you don't buy software and then 'own' it, you have bought a limited license to use the software which is only valid under circumstances outlined in the EULA (ie certain video editing software carries a personal license, others professional).

So while downloading/piracy may not be illegal in certain countries, using software while not paying for the rights to use it outlined in the EULA is probably still a crime, just classified differently.

 

Exactly. Isn't it technically a 'lease' where usage could be revoked at any time and for any reason?

 

While this is certainly not an argument for piracy, I would point out that EULAs, at least in the EU, are oftentimes of questionable validity and have been thrown out of court in quite a few cases. Especially in resale of software by end users to other end users, which touches on the the whole "lease versus purchase" argument.

I also believe that certain terms in Steam's TOS violate EU customer law (such as their ability to remove access to all your purchased items for basically no reason at all), they just haven't been taken to court yet.

Would be nice to live in a world where users pay fairly for their software, and companies treat users fairly for their customer rights. Not happening anytime soon I guess.