Abandon Ware

[Kakashi on crack]

I decided to go play Dungeon Keeper 2 again, but then I realized that my disk was scratched beyond repair. I technically owned the game anyways, and paid $50 for a brand new copy of it initially, so I feel I was in the right to download a copy online.

While doing so, I noticed something underneath it stating that it was legal to download the game because it was considered "Abandon Ware" for a series of reasons that made legit sense.

So now I gotta wonder...

What's your personal stance on Abandon ware? Do you think that it is still illegal to download it, is it perfectly ok? I know Bullfrog technically split up, but does that make it any better?

 

[GiantRaven]

I don't think there is anything wrong with abandonware, provided there is absolutely no avenue for purchasing the game. There are some past gems that should never be forgotten.

 

[Mehall]

There's questionable issues with plenty of Abandonware. Anything that's circa 1990 or older, is likely to be accurate in the claims of abandonware, but in the case of DK2 that's just completely wrong.

EA own the rights to all Bullfrog properties. They were the publisher and purchased the studio back in 95, with the studio being merged with EA UK in 04.

 

[Something Amyss]

What's your personal stance on Abandon ware? Do you think that it is still illegal to download it, is it perfectly ok? I know Bullfrog technically split up, but does that make it any better?

Well, it IS still illegal. There's no "do you think" about it, period.

True abandonware is of dubious grounds, but has a far lesser chance of enforcement. A company that doesn't exist can't exactly go after you.

However, since the rights are owned by someone (already stated), there's an issue there.

The legality, however, does not come down to opinion. Possibly internationally, but few places I know of actually entertain the concept of abandonware. Add in the WIPO treaty, and you've got legal issues merely acquiring it.

If you want ethical justification, that's another story.

I personally don't have a problem with the "piracy" of items no longer commercially available, but this is still an issue of ethical opinion, not so much an issue of concrete law. I also wouldn't particularly endorse it, but there'sa certain level of justification there. The problem being, if someone still owns the work, they can go after you for it because it's still a legal violation. As such, it's not a wise route.

Since copyright lasts a long time, it's unlikely to come across abandonware that can be approached legally for a long time, as it would have to come to the public domain through some means.