SEIV is being Pirated - Page 3

Baron Munchausen · #21 August 25th, 2001, 01:33 AM

It's even worse than that, actually. Copyright has become a virtual 'entitlement' for authors and artists families. It's now been extended to 50 years after the death of the author. The copyright on Sherlock Holmes only ran out a few years ago, for example. (Hmm, my reference says Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930... which would mean the copyright ran out in 1980. I'd swear it was only a few years ago I heard the story about the copyright expiring on Sherlock Holmes. Must be getting old and misremembering things...

) The copyright on Tolkien's works will run until 2023 at least since he died in 1973. Joseph Heller just died Last year if I recall correctly (my reference isn't new enough to list it) so the copyrights on Yossarian and Milo Minderbinder and associates will run until 2050.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 25 August 2001).]

BeeDee10 · #22 August 25th, 2001, 07:48 AM

For more detailed information on copyright as it currently exists, see the FAQ at the following address: http://web.mit.edu/cwis/copyright/faq.html

It looks pretty good to me. However, since the law is mutable and life+50 is a _long_ time, don't make any plans based on the assumption that you can just wait until 2070 or thereabouts (depending on when Aaron dies) to start distributing your own copies of SEIV. The duration of copyright protection has been steadily lengthened in recent years, thanks in large part to intensive lobbying by wealthy hollywood interests who do not want their old characters and movies to start entering the public domain (see "Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act", http://www.law.asu.edu/HomePages/Kar...ightExtension/).
Copyright protection originally Lasted a _maximum_ of 28 years. I think rolling back the duration to something in that ballpark would help restore a great deal of respect for copyright as well as vastly enriching the public domain. But I guess this is somewhat off-topic for an SEIV forum, and so I will shut up now.

[This message has been edited by BeeDee10 (edited 25 August 2001).]

tesco samoa · #23 August 25th, 2001, 05:20 PM

thats good reading if your fall under american copyright laws. I was thinking along the line that copyright laws should be one and the same planet wide.

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dmm · #24 August 27th, 2001, 06:05 PM

The real rip-off of pirating software is that most software only has a useful lifetime of about 5 years. So 50 years of copyright protection is meaningless. Therefore, it is much more of a crime to pirate software than books. If someone pirates a book, the copyright owners have 50 years to get a return on their investment from law-abiding citizens. Not so with software! (Although, come to think of it, many books also have a short lifetime, such as celeb bios and computer "how-to"s. Maybe there ought to be different categories of copyrights, and short-term copyrights should be savagely enforced.)

tesco samoa · #25 August 27th, 2001, 10:34 PM

All copyright is enforced. For if you do not enforce it you might lose it. Look at all the cases flying around with humour or satire of products. Like the fordsucks or any boardgames that have been reproduced as jokes.

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dmm · #26 August 28th, 2001, 12:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by tesco samoa:
All copyright is enforced. For if you do not enforce it you might lose it.

What I meant was that someone could choose a 5-year copyright, which would have draconian penalties, or they could choose the 50-year copyright, which would have slap-on-the-wrist penalties (except for heinous offenders). Because not even MS cares if you pirate Win3.0 at this point (they've made their money and moved on), whereas the owners of a classic novel get their return on investment over the long term.

BeeDee10 · #27 August 28th, 2001, 01:24 AM

quote:
Originally posted by tesco samoa:
All copyright is enforced. For if you do not enforce it you might lose it.

This is simply false, read the FAQ I posted the URL for downthread. _Trademarks_ have the "defend it or lose it" feature, but not copyright. It is possible to ignore some copyright violations and prosecute others, or even ignore _all_ copyright violations, and still retain copyright.

TNTTony · #28 August 28th, 2001, 06:09 AM

I seem to be the only one in my circle of friends that actually buy games. My friend actually told me that I was stupid in buying games because everyone pirates games.

There are many reasons why people pirate games and these reasons are not as black and white as many people on this forum seem to suggest.

Australia does not sell SEIV. Instead an australian can purchase the game via the net for the sum of $120. Why purchase the game at $120 and wait one week for the game to come when you can spend a couple of hours downloading and play it instantaneously?

It seems that the "common" theme in todays games is to package it in a DVD case with a flimsy manual. Anyone who have to work to earn a buck knows that moeny do no grow on trees. When we spend hundreds of dollars on a game we want more than just a GOOD game. We want something to be included in the purchase that makes it DIFFERENT to downloading it Online. I mean the only difference between a game downloaded Online and a game that was purchased is that one came with a paper manual and one came without a manual. We want something good when purchasing the game.

There are many other reasons. Please don't get me wrong. I do not condone pirating. What I'm trying to say is that the pirating issue is not as easy and clear cut as people make it to be.

Thank you for your attention.

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I need a good signature :-(

Saxon · #29 August 28th, 2001, 12:44 PM

Two quick things I would like to say in regards to the Last post.

First, I live in Kenya and I had to mail order my copy of SE4. I see no reason that living in Australia should make one any less ethically bound to pay for the game than living anywhere in the world. There are plenty of things I would like to have and can not get, but that is part of living where I live. Having to wait a week for something to come in the mail is not a big hardship, certainly not one which would justify defrauding someone of cash and credit for a game they spend serious time creating.

Second, �everyone pirates games� is a clearly false statement that your friends have given you. Economics is pretty simple, if people don�t buy games, they won�t get made. Sure, a few shareware games are out there (SE1-3), but most good games are commercial. Therefore, people buy games, in fact, most people buy games. Your friend�s argument is false and poor reasoning. It goes back to what Mom used to say, �If everyone else jumped off the cliff, would you?� Mom is from Queensland, so I have always assumed this was an Australian proverb.

While I agree with you, the reasons people pirate games are diverse, I would disagree with you on the black and white issue. It is pretty clear that pirating a game is wrong and the justifications are not ethically strong enough to justify it. From where I sit, pirating a game to save a week of waiting for entertainment is ethically wrong. Pirating a game to save my Mom�s life is wrong, but ethically justifiable. People pirate games to save a few bucks and to have a bit more fun, not to save lives.

tesco samoa · #30 August 28th, 2001, 02:09 PM

What does everyone think of music??? Along the same lines???

I am a member of the emusic club so I just download albums from that site and other stuff for back catalogue music that is unavailable anywhere.

I do not shop at music stores. 100% to 300% mark up is just too much for me.

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