WC Game Downloads

Prometheus said:
Copyright law, for example? Sure it varies from nation to nation, but you in the USA seem have some pretty clearly defined criteria on what constitutes "fair use".

Other countries have similar rules, we here in Germany don't have "fair use" like in America, but we have some similar rules.
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He's using the "fair use" argument to say that copyright limits need to expire so people can use them - but if you're using something for "fair use" the copyright is not an issue at all.
 
Jason_Ryock said:
He's using the "fair use" argument to say that copyright limits need to expire so people can use them - but if you're using something for "fair use" the copyright is not an issue at all.
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I don't see that. He says there is fair use and then he uses the word "furthermore" and continues about expiring of copyright. I don't see him claiming the two things are in any way connected.
 
Prometheus said:
Almost universally accepted seems to be "educational use" as being fair use, or more or less exempt from copyright restrictions.
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Well, no. "Fair use" does not exempt people from copyright law. Educators that want to use a song or book in a presentation still have to buy it (Or loan it from a library). Fair use protects them from being prosecuted for things like showing a movie to a group of students or from photocopying a page onto clear plastic to project to the class... But it wouldn't protect him if he were to copy the entire book that way, or to make DVD copies of the movie for the kids to watch at home - even if he was quizing them on it.

Similarly fair use means that I can show clips from a movie in my TV show while I review it because it's necessary for the audience to understand what I'm talking about. It does not allow me to broadcast the whole show. Same goes for small soundbites from songs and interviews in Radio, or other things of the sort in newscasts.

Keeping copyright law up to date with cultural and technological realities is of course being debated by law makers. One current proposed Canadian law even legalizes video and music Mash-ups (though the current bill has some serious issues surrounding DRM that need worked out).

"Fair Use" has nothing to do with access to media, or distribution. It simply protects the consumer from copyright law for things that can be considered... well, fair use. Backups of games could theoretically fall under fair use. But this has absolutely nothing to do with the public's future access to those same games. It certainly makes a case for the legality of some kind of archival system of preserving data, but not access to that data.
 
The backup part is interesting. I have some old game CDs that are unusable, but I brought the original product. If I have a backup of the filems (or have access to a backup of the same game), I could at least theory still play my game legally, sort of.
 
I probably shouldn't have used the term "fair use", since fair use somewhat tangential to the point I was making, but it does have a fairly well defined legal definition, at least under U.S. copyright law. The only reason why I brought up fair use is as one example of a place where the power of a copyright is limited in order to further the public interest, in order to emphasize the point that there are cases where our law acts in the general public interest, and not just in the interest of the copyright holder. The proposed limits on copyright time that are being discussed, which would NOT fall under "fair use" (at least in the U.S.) are another such possible case where limiting the power of a copyright could further the public interest...but only if the duration of the copyright was sufficiently long so that it still incentivized creation.
 
Well, no. "Fair use" does not exempt people from copyright law. Educators that want to use a song or book in a presentation still have to buy it (Or loan it from a library). Fair use protects them from being prosecuted for things like showing a movie to a group of students or from photocopying a page onto clear plastic to project to the class... But it wouldn't protect him if he were to copy the entire book that way, or to make DVD copies of the movie for the kids to watch at home - even if he was quizing them on it.
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Sorry, my mistake. This is what I meant, but I didn't put it as clearly. Of course, even for educational use, there are limits.
 
Farbourne said:
The proposed limits on copyright time that are being discussed, which would NOT fall under "fair use" (at least in the U.S.) are another such possible case where limiting the power of a copyright could further the public interest...but only if the duration of the copyright was sufficiently long so that it still incentivized creation.
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I really fail to see how my being able to pass along "Hit Me Baby One More Time" to anyone I want to or using it any means I want to furthers the public interest.
 
This argument is something that seems to have almost destroyed the Close Combat Community...this poll on Closecombatseries.net sums it up.

Where the CIC has always gone out of its way to prevent piracy, that site at one point (and if you look hard enough still does) support the torrents of their games (the originals that is...CC-CC5). This despite the fact that Matrix Games continues to work on re-releases of the old games (with lots of improvements) which some community members detest for the simple reason they cost money.

I'm a big CC fan, but after reading their forums after I "rediscovered" the site 4 months the first I did was tell the guys on IRC thanks for not allowing that to happen with WC.
 
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