Honest Question

[zimsjim]

how important is it to own copies of any and all games you add to the Caanoo?
not sure if this question is taboo or not, but wanted to ask
thank you

 

[phungp]

Ask a lawyer. The laws (and potential penalties) for this vary from place to place.

Chances are that no1 will know or care that you have unlicensed copies of games. But if you choose to go down that road you must be prepared to deal with any potential consequences.

 

[zimsjim]

Ask a lawyer. The laws (and potential penalties) for this vary from place to place.

Chances are that no1 will know or care that you have unlicensed copies of games. But if you choose to go down that road you must be prepared to deal with any potential consequences.

Thanks....

I mean, if this is something I'd do for Gameboy Advance, PSP, etc then that is different.... What I don't see as the big deal is the NES, SNES, etc stuff from decades ago that is no longer sold. It's not like I can buy that stuff from Nintendo or whatever anymore and to me is virtually the same thing as getting it off of ebay.

 

[Popcorn Dave]

No, but the companies can still make some money off those old games, via Nintendo's Virtual Console and Sega's Genesis Collection for example. So they hold onto copyrights even when those games are just sitting in an archive somewhere. Trying to find out about the laws is also a confusing mess as well, with lots of silly rumours like the famous "it's okay if you delete it after 24 hours" and "it's legal if the publisher has stopped supporting it". Long story short, downloading commercial games for free will never be legal unless you own a legal copy (and hell, even that part might be another rumour). Obviously most companies have got bigger fish to fry and I doubt they'll send their lawyers after you for downloading Castlevania III, but no-one here can tell you for sure that you'll never get in trouble for it.

 

[zimsjim]

No, but the companies can still make some money off those old games, via Nintendo's Virtual Console and Sega's Genesis Collection for example. So they hold onto copyrights even when those games are just sitting in an archive somewhere. Trying to find out about the laws is also a confusing mess as well, with lots of silly rumours like the famous "it's okay if you delete it after 24 hours" and "it's legal if the publisher has stopped supporting it". Long story short, downloading commercial games for free will never be legal unless you own a legal copy (and hell, even that part might be another rumour). Obviously most companies have got bigger fish to fry and I doubt they'll send their lawyers after you for downloading Castlevania III, but no-one here can tell you for sure that you'll never get in trouble for it.

Thanks.... i appreciate the details