Fable: The Lost Chapters Mod Scene - RDF feed
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I have got a question for the moderators and any others that would know enough about legal issues to answer. You see, I had bought Fable: The Lost Chapters a while ago, when it was still available in stores. Then after being away from playing the game for so long, I pulled out the disc and discovered that it had a crack from the center to 5/8 across the radius of the disc. So I decided to download a torrented .iso, and installed it, while still using my product key. Now here is my question, is it within legal boundaries to use an .iso of the game if I still use my own CD Key? If it is not, then I guess I will have to try to find a another working Fable TLC that I buy from somewhere... Please let me know as soon as possible, for I don't like the idea of manipulating copyright laws.
Strictly speaking I don't think so. As far as I remember the law says you can make one copy of your disc for backup purposes but as the torrent was a copy of someone else's disc and not yours, I don't know that you'd be covered. Also copyright law may vary by region so what applies to one user may not necessarily apply to you.
Thanks for letting me know. I guess I will look for a new copy that works, but, in the meantime, I will continue to use the .iso to test out mods from this site and mods that I make myself.
IIRC, it's legal so long as you have proof that you actually own the game, so you should be fine as long as you keep the disc.
Really? That is a relief, I'd hate to spend money on a game I already own and hate having to look for such a game when it is no longer widely available. Thanks for the tip.
Quote: Isn't it legal to copy computer and video games as a backup as long as you own a legitimate copy? U.S. Copyright laws permit making a "backup" copy of computer programs for archival purposes. However, the right to make backup copies of computer programs for archival purposes, as embodied in 17 U.S.C. Section 117(2), does not in any way authorize the owner of a copy of a video or computer game to post or download a copy of that game to or from the Internet or make such copy available to other people for their use. Section 117(2) only gives the owner of the copy a right to make an archival copy of the actual copy that he/she legally possesses, not to make a copy of the ROM that someone else legally possesses, nor to post an archival copy of his/her original copy for distribution. The law clearly does NOT provide any right to sell "backup" copies. In fact, Section 117 is quite explicit in stating that any archival copy prepared under Section 117(2) can only be transferred to another person if, and only if: A) The original copy is also transferred, and only with the authorization of the copyright owner, and B) The transfer is part of the sale of all rights in the program. So if they wanted to they could cite your downloaded copy as illegal as you didn't get the original disc with it. You should probably be ok though.
Thanks for all of your insights everyone. Let's hope this can be a future reference for other "uninformed participators."
Linkxp500 wrote on Mon, 10 October 2011 13:24 Thanks for all of your insights everyone. Let's hope this can be a future reference for other "uninformed participators." Indeed though as I said earlier the applicable laws may vary by Country/State/Etc. meaning just because it's legal in the U.S. as per above, it may not be where you are and saying "but the internet said so" is not a valid defence in court. If in doubt look it up.
Right, and the reason I feel comfortable about this is because I live in the U.S. But I will keep that in mind.
Linkxp500 wrote on Mon, 10 October 2011 21:22 Right, and the reason I feel comfortable about this is because I live in the U.S. But I will keep that in mind. I wasn't saying that to you, more for the benefit of future readers .
.......... I knew that all along, just testing you.
According to the EULA, you don't own the software but rather a license to use it. And you're granted one backup copy for, well I'm guessing for backup purposes. It's a bit of a stretch but if it were up to me, I'd say you're good. Hardly worth calling a lawyer/consultant and I highly doubt Lionhead/Microsoft would raise a fuss over such circumstances as they're too busy trying to take down pirate sites to bother with individual sort-of kind-of semi-pirates that actually bought the game.
Its a common misconception among gamers, its illegal regardless. I'm not sure if a company will actually pursue the venture however. I think of it as more of a fail safe for someone they don't like. The creation of backups without the ripping of the original Cdroms data is in fact illegal. The downloading of the content is also obviously illegal. The honest opinion i give you is no one cares.
Just wanted to add. In most cases the company itself grants you special rights in their EULA. The EULA is a legally binding agreement between you, and them, and most of them grant you the right to a backup, so, regardless of the law, it's really up to the company to pursue these cases. (And, considering they granted you the right to a backup, it wouldn't make sense for them to do so, as they would be violating their own agreement, making themselves liable.) Keep in mind, not every EULA may grant you this right. As for downloading a copy, every copy should be identical, you licensed the software, which is contained on said copy, so, I don't see the problem, the lawyers on the other hand, see things in whatever way benefits them. In that case, I would cite digital distribution, should shut them up pretty quickly, they would be condemning an entire industry, the one paying them. (This may be shaky ground, but, the premise is the same, you license software, their server acts as a backup, and you can download new copies as needed. I'd use this defense, if it came down to it, better than going to jail without a fight.)