Downloading pirated games that you own

So I wanted to play with my old baldurs gate game but I notice my cd has a huge scratch on it and I cant install it, so do you think it would be illegal to download it since i already bought it but I just cant install it anymore.

edited title to make it clearer.

Ok here's the thing most people don't realize.... In short..... You didn't buy the game, you bought the disc the game was on. If your disc broke and you want to go the legal route, you're just going to have to buy another disc. Downloading the game without paying anything is illegal, plain and simple. SuperBeast

You buy the rights to personal use of the game... and you do have a right to make a backup copy by law. (last time I checked anyway, but the laws could've changed.) That said... Get caught DLing it and 'but I already owned it' is going to be a pretty weak argument. However the company that made the game would have to be actively tracking people down, because it's a civil case and not a criminal case, meaning the police don't care.

For the OP: If you're worried about it, I would try and find another friend who owned the game, or see if you can pick it up cheap (should not be more than 10-20 USD) at a game store.

I don't think theres any problem in downloading.

I don't think you'd get in any trouble for downloading an old game such as that when you own it.

And lets face it. The chances of being caught are pretty slim anyway.

I personally don't see anything wrong with it as you already own a legal copy. The feds might disagree though.RK-Mara

I totally agree, and do the same with movies. I own a bunch on VHS, and have downloaded the same movies to that I have digital copies which I can stream over my network. Plus, my VCR broke. :(

Don't forget that while you're downloading, assuming you're using a certain kind of popular programs, you're an extra person from whom other people can download from. In other words, during the time you're still downloading, you're helping spread a pirated game.

I know, it's a technical fact and a small one at that, but still thought I'd mention it :P I still think it's ok for you to download a copy, just depends on how strict your conscience is.

Ok here's the thing most people don't realize.... In short..... You didn't buy the game, you bought the disc the game was on. If your disc broke and you want to go the legal route, you're just going to have to buy another disc. Downloading the game without paying anything is illegal, plain and simple. SuperBeast

That's all well and good, but I'm sure the original game cost him far more than the cost of a blank CD. Not quite the same thing.

Ok here's the thing most people don't realize.... In short..... You didn't buy the game, you bought the disc the game was on. If your disc broke and you want to go the legal route, you're just going to have to buy another disc. Downloading the game without paying anything is illegal, plain and simple. SuperBeast

No, people by a cd-key. So it would be fine if he were to download it

[QUOTE="SuperBeast"]Ok here's the thing most people don't realize.... In short..... You didn't buy the game, you bought the disc the game was on. If your disc broke and you want to go the legal route, you're just going to have to buy another disc. Downloading the game without paying anything is illegal, plain and simple. gregbmil

No, people by a cd-key. So it would be fine if he were to download it

Correct. Read through any EULA ad you get a liscence to play it, not the game, nor the disks. Liscence. So you can therefore download it.

And in almost every single popular torrent program you can limit your upload to 0 kb/s so no you are not "spreading".

And for the record I use torrents for patchs and demos only.

That didnt really answer my question... so many different opinion on this. But thx for the great feed back all, il probly go look for it tomorow in local store and if I cant find it il dl it :(

Pirating sucks it hurts the industry but I already paid for this great game like 10 years ago so I think it cant be that bad.

If I get caught dl it will I get a criminal case?

Because I cant have a criminal case for where I work...

Why are you so afraid? The chances of getting caught are slim to none. The chances to getting prosecuted are slim to none. In fact, P2P is a popular way of getting plenty of legal stuff, like Linux distributions, for example.

You have a far greater chance of getting prosecuted for stealing a pack of gum at a convience store than you would downloading pirated software.

I would confidently say no one has ever been prosecuted for downloading one game. It's mainly people who have downloaded many games or even worse, have downloaded them and then have sold them off.

It's illegal and this thread will be deleted. But think hard on this matter and remember: You bought the game. You already supported the developers. So you aren't hurting the industry. And you can't get caught pirating either. It's not a "slim to none", it actually just "none". No one has ever been prosecuted for game pirating.

(But don't do it unless you have supported the developers).

I wonder if it would be considered making a back up copy for my personal use...Fr0st3d

that is legaly alowed to have, well atleast here in the EU

This is the part of piracy that the companies thrive on but will never get user-support with. It's the part of piracy that prevents people from rebuying software because they broke it... or having people buy a game to try it and realize the game sucks. These things happened before we had the ability to pirate games as easily as now, and even though it seems harmless, it still does affect sales, even if it's not necessarily for your benefit. The fact that people are able to pirate games, try them, and know not to buy them, or similarly, download a game they bought before instead of repurchasing it still takes the profit out of their hands. They still lose money from it because they otherwise would have gotten money from these sales

No one will probably understand what I'm saying though. But I still consider it piracy.

how about this. I have a perfect copy of warcraft 3 and the frozen throne but I've lost the cd key, is there anyway I can install the game?quocthai

That's a tougher situation. If you have a CD-Key, technically you have the game. If you don't have the CD Key, well, you're screwed. You can plea to Blizzard but unless you have your case in hand it might be tricky.

This is the part of piracy that the companies thrive on but will never get user-support with. It's the part of piracy that prevents people from rebuying software because they broke it... or having people buy a game to try it and realize the game sucks. These things happened before we had the ability to pirate games as easily as now, and even though it seems harmless, it still does affect sales, even if it's not necessarily for your benefit. The fact that people are able to pirate games, try them, and know not to buy them, or similarly, download a game they bought before instead of repurchasing it still takes the profit out of their hands. They still lose money from it because they otherwise would have gotten money from these sales

No one will probably understand what I'm saying though. But I still consider it piracy.

drphizzle0

As far as I'm aware, you aren't buying the data but the right to use the data. So technically, it's still not piracy. If anyone has the source or details to prove me right or wrong, step in, please.