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[GreatJustice]

Wow, Europe's doing something right for once

Yeah, silly EULA's and IP have never really been my thing, so rulings like this are all well and good in my book.

Of course, there might be some downsides. As someone said earlier, Steam sales aren't as worthwhile for Steam if you get small time game speculators buying 1000x copies of games for 75% off and selling them at 50% off later, but then maybe Steam will find a way to make money from that.

EDIT: Somewhat off topic actually, but Steam might be able to make money just from functioning as an online gaming market and charging a set fee for transactions. People buy each other's old games so they're happy, Steam gets a part of the action from fees so they're happy, the game devs maybe wouldn't be so happy but then Steam could just offer them some indirect incentive or buy them out or something

[Itnetlolor]

1) Start a company that buys used games for 50% of their cost and sells at 80%;
2) Profit.

This immediately came to mind when I read that.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Does this mean online piracy re-selling of digital copies is legal? Such as a non-steam Steam coming around to sell games bought from Steam and such to others online for cheaper price?

How does the law differentiate between 'digital download' and a fully pirated game? Can they even tell from a law standpoint? If not, what's to stop a TPB-like tracker coming out charging money for downloaded/easily pirated games?

*Casts summon Truean*

[Aklyon]

The two are, before any patches are made (either of the circumvention or update kind) identical. Same game, same game data, same .exe file. The only differences are in method of aquisition and the game data post-patching. IANAL, but that might be relevant if Summon: Truean is succesful.

[Vel]

Does this mean online piracy re-selling of digital copies is legal? Such as a non-steam Steam coming around to sell games bought from Steam and such to others online for cheaper price?

How does the law differentiate between 'digital download' and a fully pirated game? Can they even tell from a law standpoint? If not, what's to stop a TPB-like tracker coming out charging money for downloaded/easily pirated games?

*Casts summon Truean*

Having the software does not alone constitute a license, so.. there's a pretty clear difference as far as I see.

[BigD145]

Let's just stick with the CD keys and be done with it. No more 3 installs only or constant online BS. EU, make it so!

[Aklyon]

Let's just stick with the CD keys and be done with it. No more 3 installs only or constant online BS. EU, make it so!

This would be great. Or hell, bring shareware back, with all its extended demo kinda stuff. (well, bring it back more than just the rarely found game using the system Geneforge, AI War, AVWW, or WazHack use.) They will complain, and complain hard, about piracy. But its going to happen any-bloody-way, so why are you wasting your time on high-tech, minimal-effect drm, use the simpler way. Probably cheaper too.

[BigD145]

Companies always complain about piracy and the companies that do "studies" always overblow everything as much as they can. The DRM makers have a product to sell and they'll do anything to sell it.

/choir
/preach

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Having the software does not alone constitute a license, so.. there's a pretty clear difference as far as I see.

You still agree to the EULA even if you are a pirate, so....?

[IronyOwl]

You still agree to the EULA even if you are a pirate, so....?

You don't legitimately own anything to resell, in this case. I would assume it's identical to how stealing and then selling physical items isn't legitimate or protected by law.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

The discrepancy can't really be addressed unless they happen to know that a digital download is a pirated version or not, yes? If so then they'll have to assume every digital download is illegitimate and act from there.


And if someone does end up paying 3$ for pirate version of Dungeons of Dredmor [example], unaware that their specific copy is illegitimate, do they or the distributor get penalized/tried?

[Aklyon]

The discrepancy can't really be addressed unless they happen to know that a digital download is a pirated version or not, yes? If so then they'll have to assume every digital download is illegitimate and act from there.

No, thats a terrible idea. Then they're a pirate because they at somepoint bought a digital title, and the people dragged into court for no reason have to prove they're innocent, instead of the other way around. We've got far too many not-exactly-prisoners as it is.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

That's my point, Aklyon.

[Gunner-Chan]

Odds are if this gets done at all the reselling will probably need to be done through whatever it was bought from originally. I don't think any part of this is allowing trading of burned and cracked CDs.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

Odds are if this gets done at all the reselling will probably need to be done through whatever it was bought from originally. I don't think any part of this is allowing trading of burned and cracked CDs.

I'm not talking about box games, I'm talking about digital games. The ones you don't need to emulate/download a CD in order to pirate.