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[Alfador]

I kinda wish they would come over to my place and demand the game. I don't own any firearms, but I do keep a large steel crowbar near the front door. Forget shoving Spore down their throats, lets see if they can pick 133% damage out of their gums.

Covering my ass: I'm not actually threatening violence against anybody; any legal experts should read this as metaphorical in the sense of Dwarf Fortress, in that the most violent thing I might possibly do is create two characters in the game and have one attack the other with a modded weapon. Really. I'm being so sincere right now.

[Neonivek]

Trespassing: Being on someone's property against the owners wishes

breaking and entering: Going into someone's property against the owners wishes in order to commit a crime.

So if they prove that they own the game and that you only bought its license, which they lawfully revoked, then you can only hit them with Trespassing which is a rather minor offense. (And since it is EA... they probably would get away with it)

Yes I am aware that the contracts have poor legal power due to many reasons (I had them listed in the first draft of this message)

[Qmarx]

So, in the areas where you live, is "sales tax" charged for licenses?

It isn't in the state where I live.  Since I got the game at Val-Mart (Ze Plaze for your kapitiztik needz), I was charged sales tax.

That means the government acknowledges I'm buying a copy of the game, rather than a license.

And, just in case, I deleted the license.txt from the temporary directory and replaced it with a 0 byte file.  EULA screen displays nothing, I agree to nothing.

[penguinofhonor]

And, just in case, I deleted the license.txt from the temporary directory and replaced it with a 0 byte file.  EULA screen displays nothing, I agree to nothing.

You, sir, are a genius.

[Tormy]

And, just in case, I deleted the license.txt from the temporary directory and replaced it with a 0 byte file.  EULA screen displays nothing, I agree to nothing.

You, sir, are a genius.

No shit...

[Cthulhu]

I wonder if that would hold up in court....

*Eyes glaze over at the prospect*

[Aqizzar]

Absolutely not.  Assuming you were picked up on the 1:200000 or so chance, it would go something like this.

The whole point of a trial system is to let the two parties make their arguments about whether one is guilty.  The arguments would be-

You: I deleted the electronic copy of the EULA, so I technically agreed to nothing.

EA: The affirmed pirate altered their copy of the electronic product, the physical written agreement and statute law still stands.

Verdict: Deliberate tampering with a product to facilitate willful ignorance is not an excuse, and the ridiculous defense only made the jury think you're smarmy.  Guilty.

[Cthulhu]

That's when the four or five ounces of C4 you swallowed go off.

[Qmarx]

Absolutely not.  Assuming you were picked up on the 1:200000 or so chance, it would go something like this.

The whole point of a trial system is to let the two parties make their arguments about whether one is guilty.  The arguments would be-

You: I deleted the electronic copy of the EULA, so I technically agreed to nothing.

EA: The affirmed pirate altered their copy of the electronic product, the physical written agreement and statute law still stands.

Verdict: Deliberate tampering with a product to facilitate willful ignorance is not an excuse, and the ridiculous defense only made the jury think you're smarmy.  Guilty.

When did I agree not to alter files on my computer?  Are you saying that you have the right to dictate what I have on my computer?

The EULA is what includes the clauses that I cannot edit any of the files.  I didn't agree to the EULA, ergo I am allowed to edit the files.

OR:
A contract has to be made with the consent of both parties.  I didn't consent to the contract, therefore it's not legally valid.  Since EA has no contract with me, they cannot dictate terms - they can only prosecute based on copyright laws.  Since I haven't violated any of those, being a good little non-redistributor, they have nothing on me. 

[Cthulhu]

Verdict: Deliberate tampering with a product to facilitate willful ignorance is not an excuse, and the ridiculous defense only made the jury think you're smarmy.  Guilty.

Or maybe the jury will think you're so witty and clever they'll let you go.  Innocent.

[McDoomhammer]

I'm more interested in this sales tax thing and whether that actually does dictate the difference, in the eyes of the law, between buying something that becomes your personal property and merely purchasing a revokable license to use it.

And, if it is the former, whether that only includes the medium that carries the software (the disc) or the copy of the program itself.  It seems worth considering that if you buy a book, you own the physical copy, but have no rights over the words inside.

Still, you can freely lend it, re-sell it, cross bits out, and generally use it however you want.  Just not distribute copies.

Edit:  Oh, and you don't have to prove it's you every time you open it, or get permission to re-read it more than twice.

[Idiom]

That wouldn't work. Give them the finger by not playing it at all.

[Neonivek]

"When did I agree not to alter files on my computer?  Are you saying that you have the right to dictate what I have on my computer?"

No, he said that removing the contract so that you could remain ignorant of the contract isn't protected under the law.

Also there are several modifications to Spore that are illegal, assuming the EULA has real legal power such as.
1) Removing the EA Logo
or even
2) Removing the Credits from the game (I think)

[Aqizzar]

Absolutely not.  Assuming you were picked up on the 1:200000 or so chance, it would go something like this.

The whole point of a trial system is to let the two parties make their arguments about whether one is guilty.  The arguments would be-

You: I deleted the electronic copy of the EULA, so I technically agreed to nothing.

EA: The affirmed pirate altered their copy of the electronic product, the physical written agreement and statute law still stands.

Verdict: Deliberate tampering with a product to facilitate willful ignorance is not an excuse, and the ridiculous defense only made the jury think you're smarmy.  Guilty.

When did I agree not to alter files on my computer?  Are you saying that you have the right to dictate what I have on my computer?

The EULA is what includes the clauses that I cannot edit any of the files.  I didn't agree to the EULA, ergo I am allowed to edit the files.

OR:
A contract has to be made with the consent of both parties.  I didn't consent to the contract, therefore it's not legally valid.  Since EA has no contract with me, they cannot dictate terms - they can only prosecute based on copyright laws.  Since I haven't violated any of those, being a good little non-redistributor, they have nothing on me. 

Here we go.  Let me start by saying that I love how you're turning me into the bad guy for infringing on your certitude.  Now, I don't claim to know the actual letter of the law here (not that it matters), but I do claim to know enough about the judicial process to know that you're a fool if you think deleting the license file somehow renders you immune to copyright and piracy law.  If it was that easy, do really think you'd be the first guy to use it?

Your whole argument is based on a fallacy, that the EULA document is some kind of Right of Use contract between you and the producer.  Despite the name, it's not.  The EULA itself is a legal understanding between the producer and the federal government.  The only agreement you entered into is your own end of Right to Use law when you paid for your game, thus transferring all rights and restrictions of ownership from the retailer to you.  And no, not paying a retailer doesn't immunize you from those restrictions either.

The EULA document is a statement of prevailing law, like a no trespassing sign.  Installation programs force you to acknowledge the laws' existence by hitting 'agree', to make sure you can't claim ignorance if you wind up in court (not that it would help anyway, but people tried often enough in the '90s that software companies resolved to make it nice and clear).  You can't very well tear down stop signs and drive how you please can you?  What makes you think an electronic warning sign is any different?

You're operating on the assumption that as long as what you do takes place on your property, the computer, it's automatically legal.  I don't know where this started, but it's as wrong now as it ever was.  To answer your (real) question, yes, the federal government does have to right to dictate what you have on your computer.  That they choose not to pursue 99.9% of cases does not invalidate that power.  Deleting the license file is not a crime, no, but claiming it irrelevant because you didn't read it won't fly.

Further, you can make all the contortions and clever wordings you like, written law is only truly important as far as proving probable cause for charge, and determining those charges.  Guilt or innocence is entirely a matter of persuasion and argument.  And The Internet does not try cases, render verdicts, or levy sentences, so smugness won't help you there.  I promise you, if you went to trial and contended that knowingly deleting the publisher's statement of legal rights makes you exempt to the laws it describes will only get you laughed out of the courtroom and into bigass fines.

I don't know why people keep clinging to this mythology of "Land of the Free means if I come up with good enough wordplay I can do whatever I want."  Honestly, I have less respect for pirates who delude themselves that wit and a cursory knowledge of copyright law puts them in the legal right, than I do for pirates who admit what they do is illegal and just flaunt the consequences.  It's not like it's hard.

I'm more interested in this sales tax thing and whether that actually does dictate the difference, in the eyes of the law, between buying something that becomes your personal property and merely purchasing a revokable license to use it.

You might want to read that wall of text too.  You're not purchasing a license to use at any stage of the process.

[Torak]

Honestly, I have less respect for pirates who delude themselves that wit and a cursory knowledge of copyright law puts them in the legal right, than I do for pirates who admit what they do is illegal and just flaunt the consequences.  It's not like it's hard.

Love you too Aq. I'm not a fan of law-eluders either. I'm a pirate and admit that it's a crime, while rather unpunished by the justice system, it still is.