Is this Pirating?

[Zyst]

Salute Escapists!

Anyhow, I'll get straight to the point. I own and bought Skyrim and all its DLC (steam owned) however some mods have slight issues with Steam support and overall I didn't want to go through the headache of fixing that so I downloaded through torrent the game and the DLC I owned which is all of it. Then I happily installed the stuff I desired and it all works perfectly.

However, is this pirating? I do own the game itself so to say but you might also argue I only own a license available through steam and not the game per-se.

What are your thoughts on this particular kind of 'piracy'? This might also apply to, for example owning your old Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time cartridge but not owning a N64 anymore, so you DL a ROM. Is that pirating? You still own and have the cartridge. Where does one draw the line?

Thanks for all and any input!

 

[lechat]

should have added a poll but i would say most ppl will agree this is not wrong and although legally it probably would be i doubt any court would convict you

 

[Fractral]

I'm not sure about the rules surrounding it but I think most people consider pirating a game you already own on any platform for the same, or indeed another platform is okay or at the worst a grey area morally. Ideally you wouldn't do it, but as said above, no-one would condemn you for it.

 

[Sixcess]

I suppose 'morally' it's okay, but legally you'd still be in trouble if it came to court, not so much for downloading a copy of a game you already owned, but for providing it to others (who may not legally own it) since you're uploading to those others at the same time as you're downloading for yourself.

I'm not condemning torrenting by saying this, just pointing out that in the eyes of the law sharing a torrent with others is as much piracy as obtaining it for yourself.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Still, technically piracy if you want to delve into the strictest definition of the word.

Morally speaking however, it is at worst a grey area and to most people, a totally fine thing to do.

I really doubt anyone would condemn you for such a thing.

 

[sanquin]

It's still pirating, but it depends on where you live on what the laws are regarding this. Here in the Netherlands it's legal to have a pirated copy that you only use at home if you also have a store-bought copy.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

This might also apply to, for example owning your old Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time cartridge but not owning a N64 anymore, so you DL a ROM. Is that pirating? You still own and have the cartridge. Where does one draw the line?

Yes, it is still pirating. The whole downloading a second copy from the internet thing is a misinterpretation of the backup/archival copy exception. I'm not quite sure if I interpreted it correctly myself, but if not mistaken it is only legal if you dump the ROM yourself from an authentic copy you own and then only for archival purposes and/or to have a backup in case the original gets destroyed i.e. you can't actually use it.

Technically, the same goes for emulation, requiring you to dump the BIOS from your own console. But that's more complicated since some emulators don't need a BIOS, emulating it instead, and I don't know what sort of legal issues that may or may not have.

Of course, it all depends on which country you're from. The above is based on the U.S. laws. Most countries have similar legislation. I'll freely admit to having no clue what it's like in Mexico.

 

[DoPo]

However, is this pirating? I do own the game itself so to say but you might also argue I only own a license available through steam and not the game per-se.

Normally, (and depending on some local laws and such) acquiring a non legit copy from somewhere is murky at best. It's because usually, the somewhat loosest laws I've seen (OK, not really the loosest, but "without going to extremes") allow you to make a copy of the game yourself but distributing a copy is prohibited. You can see how if somebody else is distributing it, and you are just getting it, it doesn't fall anywhere. However, with torrents you automatically upload as you download...at least all normal torrent clients do that. So you do take part in distributing the copy.

This might also apply to, for example owning your old Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time cartridge but not owning a N64 anymore, so you DL a ROM. Is that pirating?

Yes, it is. OK, it may depend on the location, but most usually it is legal if you did the ROM yourself. Regardless, using an emulaor to play the game is illegal (though, I am not 100% sure, there may be some regional laws here, as well). Just to clarify - not all emulation is illegal but this one is.

You still own and have the cartridge.

Irrelevant - it's the license that matters, not the cartridge. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Nintendo don't even allow backups of their games (the old ones, at least), so all their ROMs are illegal. Or something like that.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

It's still pirating, but it depends on where you live on what the laws are regarding this. Here in the Netherlands it's legal to have a pirated copy that you only use at home if you also have a store-bought copy.

That is not entirely correct.

You are probably referring to the 'home copy' you're allowed to make according to article 16b of the Dutch law on author's rights under the provision that it is only intended for you own study/exercise/use. There are no stipulations that you have to make this copy yourself so you can illegally download it. Unfortunately, computer software (including games) is an exception to this rule, leading us to article 45. It's all pretty legalese, but it pretty much boils down to the following:

You are allowed have a backup copy of a piece of software you legally own/have a license to, but it explicitly states you have to make it yourself. So, no downloading, using a pirated copy or obtaining it in any other way. And you can only do so 'if it is necessary for it's intended use'. What that means is still pretty open to interpretation since there is little jurisprudence on it. Most of it seems to emphasize the 'backup' aspect, meaning a copy you store and dust off if the original copy becomes unusable. Though a case can be made for storing the original as backup instead and using the copy you made.

But, article 45 means that making the backup copy is not a breach of author's rights. It does not state that you have the inalienable right to make one. For example, it is possible for a license agreement of a piece of software to have a stipulation that forbids the licensee to make the backup copy. And since most software requires you to agree with the license agreement to use it in any capacity ... well, you pretty much lost from the get go.

And last, but not least, the European regulation on software 91/250/EC, which the Dutch article 45 is based on, states that the making of a backup copy by the rightful owner/licensee of software may not be prevented through an agreement if being a backup is its purpose. So a judge should declare any contract forbidding a backup copy to be void, though there has not been any Dutch court case yet where this has been the case and as such there is no jurisprudence.

Ok, I'm gonna stop now. All that legal stuff is making my head take on strange dimensions.

Captcha: in limbo
Yes, kind of, but with more cheese.

 

[lRookiel]

Putting the technicalities aside I say you are justified in doing this since Vanilla skyrim does wear on a bit. I (and everyone else who plays skyrim on PC) like to spice my game up with some cool sets of armour or some new enemies.

 

[Rawne1980]

You don't need to use a cracked EXE or anything to bypass Steam.

Skyrim Script Extender boots Skyrim up without Steam which is what I use. It's needed for some of the larger mods anyway.

 

[TehCookie]

That's pirating, you downloaded an illegal copy. Next time just download the crack and use your own game files. It's still breaking the TOS but it's not illegal.

 

[Xdeser2]

You already payed the asking price?

Yes? Then, nope, its not what id consider pirating

 

[fenrizz]

This might also apply to, for example owning your old Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time cartridge but not owning a N64 anymore, so you DL a ROM. Is that pirating?

Yes, it is. OK, it may depend on the location, but most usually it is legal if you did the ROM yourself. Regardless, using an emulaor to play the game is illegal (though, I am not 100% sure, there may be some regional laws here, as well). Just to clarify - not all emulation is illegal but this one is.

You still own and have the cartridge.

Irrelevant - it's the license that matters, not the cartridge. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Nintendo don't even allow backups of their games (the old ones, at least), so all their ROMs are illegal. Or something like that.

In Norway the above is entirely legal.
Since you already bought the game it's up to you which way you enjoy it, be it via the N64 or an emulator.

What Nintendo does and does not allow is irrelevant.

OT:
No, it's not piracy.
You already own a legitimate copy (or license) so which way you enjoy the game is irrelevant.
The developer has been paid and all is good in the world.

That's pirating, you downloaded an illegal copy. Next time just download the crack and use your own game files. It's still breaking the TOS but it's not illegal.

But the did not sell you a copy, they sold you a license to enjoy the content.

 

[Vergil]

Technically it could be considered as making a backup.
Most people don't care about piracy, so I don't think that anyone will care even if you wouldn't own the game.

 

[vun]

If you download a game you own but don't seed, how 'bout that?

 

[Subscriptism]

It's not morally wrong but it is pirating.

 

[fenrizz]

It's not morally wrong but it is pirating.

How is it pirating if you own a license to use the content?

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

INAL (I'm not a lawyer).

Legally, yes, that is copyright infringement ("piracy") in most jurisdictions. This is because you have made a copy of the file without authorisation or license from the rightsholder. I'm surprised that so many people in this thread think that this isn't the case; it should be obvious that copyright infringement includes making a copy of something.

The license given to you when you purchase a game obviously does not cover making copies of the game, even for the purposes of backup or improved performance. It only covers use of the game software for personal purposes, and sometimes allows modifications (Skyrim obviously does). This is extensively covered in most competently written EULAs, but even lawyers don't read them, so whatever.

Even if the EULA allowed you to make a copy of the game for the purposes of backup or personal use (they sometimes do), you haven't actually done that; you've downloaded a torrent, i.e. copied another person's copy of the game. Your license should only cover your copy of the game software. It doesn't covered Billy Anonymous' copy which you torrented.

Morally, no. No-one on Earth is going to tell you you're a bad person for making a copy of a game you paid for so that you personally can play it without DRM. You've given the creators your money; in the popular moral consciousness, that means you "own" the game and your moral obligation towards the creators is fulfilled.

Copyright infringement in general is a morally grey area - in most cases, the rightsholders themselves are doing shadier stuff to screw over the creators who made the work in the first place. This is the whitest possible case of copyright infringement I can think of, off the top of my head.

 

[NightmareExpress]

Are you out on the internet or on the corner of the street selling burned copies of it?
Nope. Most places that aren't asinine allow for personal non-profit usage of pirated copies (if not only because the man-power required to combat piracy and punish those who do it would be astronomical).

Anyway, to answer your question it is pirating because you are downloading the game's files from somebody else who made them available. It matters not if you own the game that you torrent, the simple act of downloading without extracting the files yourself automatically makes it piracy.

Nobody is going to think lesser of you in this situation, though.