Is It Not Legal To Download Abandonwares?
Saturday, December 27, 2008 by superman | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
Hi Friends,
While googling for .....'mario' and 'contra' classic games..... to remind me of my early days of some 10 years back, I got this article.......Well, I don't want to give my mind a feeling of jail. So I thought it worth being discuussed....
Abandonware - Is it legal to download those free classic games?
Classic Gaming
I sometimes like to reminisce about the PC gaming days of old. This was back when you had to make something called a ‘boot disk’ to make your games run properly, and there were no such things as 3D video cards or online multiplayer action. Nowadays, if you go on the web looking for some of your favorite retro games, you may stumble across one of many abandonware sites where the game can be downloaded for free. This article will explain just what abandonware is and the legality behind downloading ‘free’ games from these type sites.
What is Abandonware?
The term abandonware has several meanings, but the most common implementation of the term is given to games that were produced by companies that are no longer in business. Basically, it means you can’t buy the game anymore because it is no longer being produced or supported by the company that originally released it. The justification behind these abandonware websites is that downloading the games for free won’t hurt anyone because nobody is making money off the game any longer. However, that logic is built on a shaky foundation.
Is it Legal to Download Abandonware?
Just because a company is no longer in business does not mean their copyright is no longer in effect. The problem is that when people freely copy and distribute games made by defunct companies, there is nobody around to enforce the copyright. I suppose you could look at it the way a child would when it comes to stealing a cookie out of the jar when nobody is looking. Just because nobody saw you do it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have taken that cookie.
The term ‘abandonware’ means nothing in a legal sense. It’s a catchphrase coined by some webmasters who put together a series of sites in the late 1990’s to promote older games that were no longer available in stores. For a copyright on something to be released so that others may use it, the owner of said copyright must formally release their rights. If a company is going out of business, why would they even do that?
But I Really Want to Play that Game!
In some ways, the downloading of abandonware is as much as moral issue as it is a legal one. I know there are sites where you can easily download hundreds of classic titles, absolutely for free and even with scanned box covers and instruction manuals. However, this is still stealing. Even if no lawyers come after you and no software companies send ‘cease and desist’ letters to the website, it is still not legal unless the original owner of that software has formally released their copyright to the public domain.
As for getting your hands on a retro PC game, there’s always plenty of eBay auctions where people sell old floppy disk games, and usually in lots. You can also check garage sales in your area or look around on Craigslist. You might be surprised what you turn up, plus you’d have the real package instead of just some digital copy. I’m not going to preach right or wrong here, but if you get busted downloading copyrighted software - even if it is decades old - don’t say I didn’t warn you.
My only objection to this article is that in red.... EA is largest gaming company. Several of its NFS versions are available as abandonwares......Can EA not take actions againt those sites?
Thanks.....
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Reply #22 Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:33 PM
Well, Sega has so-called abandonware, yet they are very much in business, just because the Megadrive/Genesis/Saturn/Dreamcast/32x are defunct, the games are still out there, being played, and even sold, I found a ton of downloadable Sega games the other day, and was really tempted to download them, [Streets of Rage 2 rocks!] but I'd rather find out from Sega if it's really ok
Reply #23 Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:56 PM
Well that just goes to show that all things are relative. When I think abandonware, I was thinking (in particular) of Dynamix, developers of The Adventures of Willie Beamish (ancient game for an even more ancient computer that I owned back in a former lifetime, and my children were little kids rather than young adults). Dynamix no longer exists, hence nobody to get permission from. Then again, I don't have time to play computer games anyway, because I'm busy skinning when I'm not working, or serving my family. 
Reply #24 Sunday, December 28, 2008 7:17 PM
Luckily, I still have my old game consoles, and games, though the consoles are falling apart a little
Reply #25 Monday, December 29, 2008 12:36 AM
A Radio talk-back show once posed the question...if someone unawares dropped a $20 note on the footpath....and someone later came along and picked it up...would that second person have a legitimate claim to its 'ownership'?
There was the usual to-and-fro of phone-ins....all wanting their 15 minutes but not really adding anything valid to the debate....
Until a Lawyer phone in.
His 'spin' was the original 'owner' had lost claim to it through abandonment, inadvertent or otherwise... and the finder had the old possession-is-9/10-of-the-law argument....'finders-keepers'.
Then a Supreme Court Judge phoned in.
His calm explanation was that the $20 was 'discarded' and thus classified as litter... and as such was the responsibility and OWNERSHIP of the relevant Municipal Council and it's subsequent 'removal' by an unauthorised person was theft.... from said Council.
Makes you think....
[well, it does - me]....
Reply #26 Monday, December 29, 2008 12:43 AM
That's kind of a catch 22 there Jafo, what to do.. what to do, and yes, it does make you think
Reply #27 Monday, December 29, 2008 4:47 AM
But supposing your $20 is $20,000, is that classed as litter? It is the same event and principle, just a different value.
For an item lost and found in the street the onus would be on the original owner and the finder to prove ownership. Not quite the same as a piece of software distributed on the internet where the origin would be known.
As for breaking the law, and what was said earlier. There is a stretch of open road in the country near me where cars do 50-60 mph. It's actually in a 30 mph speed limit, but because there are no police around that makes driving at 60 mph legal, right?
Some people have some strange ideas of right and wrong.
Reply #28 Monday, December 29, 2008 4:59 AM
I know when something's really wrong, you get a gut feeling and a nagging voice in your head that you can't ignore. it depends on what your conscience can live with.. yeah downloading abandonware isn't that big of a deal, we were going a little beyond that, and got carried away with greater moral issues I think
Reply #29 Monday, December 29, 2008 5:27 AM
Yeah I have Underground, Carbon and Most Wanted
I havn't used win95 and never played any dos game.... at that time I would be 7 or 8 and played mario, contra, sonic etc on 8 bit and 16bit... I have only Undeground2 and Carbon in NFS....and I don't want anymore unless they add weapons into cars...
NFS2 runs on XP...I had played it on XP in 2004...
STATUS a/c wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandonware
The software which the companies themselves released as freeware can be downloaded and played....else it can be stored for archival purposes but not played.....
A/c Gamespot
It can be downloaded... http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162308.html
Changes in copyright rules let gamers break copy protection on old games--in some circumstances.
Some gamers have been arguing for years that abandonware--older games that are no longer supported by their original copyright holders--should be exempted from copy-protection laws. These retro gamers believe that since the software is no longer being sold or supported by the copyright holders, they are breaking no law by copying and distributing the games.
That point of view may be validated now, as last week Librarian of Congress James H. Billington approved six exemptions to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the US.
Billington ruled that for games for machines which are no longer available, the copy-protection controls may be bypassed for "archival purposes." He also added that games with copy-protection that require "dongles" that were damaged and could not be replaced were also allowed to circumvent the copy-protection systems. Dongles are hardware devices that users have to physically connect to their machine to authenticate a game and allow them to play it--they first came out in the '80s and have since fallen out of popular use.
Reply #30 Monday, December 29, 2008 5:38 AM
I'm talking about NFS 1 & 2, not Underground 1 & 2, the originals you know? for Win95
Reply #31 Monday, December 29, 2008 6:22 AM
I am talking about NFS2se........Need for speed 2 second edition...
Leave that.. do you know any contra like game for pc with gamepad support?
Reply #32 Monday, December 29, 2008 6:25 AM
NFS SE yep, I threw it out because it wouldn't work.
I've played some Contra, Hard Corps I think it was, way way back 
Reply #34 Monday, December 29, 2008 7:00 AM
hehe XP wasn't invented when I had to throw mine out 
Reply #35 Monday, December 29, 2008 7:10 AM
There was the usual to-and-fro of phone-ins....all wanting their 15 minutes but not really adding anything valid to the debate....
Until a Lawyer phone in.
His 'spin' was the original 'owner' had lost claim to it through abandonment, inadvertent or otherwise... and the finder had the old possession-is-9/10-of-the-law argument....'finders-keepers'.
Then a Supreme Court Judge phoned in.
His calm explanation was that the $20 was 'discarded' and thus classified as litter... and as such was the responsibility and OWNERSHIP of the relevant Municipal Council and it's subsequent 'removal' by an unauthorised person was theft.... from said Council.
Makes you think....
[well, it does - me]....
Makes me think they're in charge and they're F.O.S. So? What else is new?
Hope you're feelin' better mate.
Reply #36 Monday, December 29, 2008 7:13 AM
About that dropped 20$ it isnt litter as it has a value litter is by definition something lying around without value. And 20$ is money and found "dropped money"(if its just the bill) is better kept bcus its very hard for anyone to claim/prove previous ownership. And "abondonware" or digital software, i think the problem lies with the law as it have not kept up with the evolution of digital media..
Reply #37 Monday, December 29, 2008 7:49 AM
Then I'm probably to be seen as dishonest, and proud of it. There are stupid laws, there are good laws. I don't really care what the law says, I can live a life with a clean conscience without having to bother. I suppose that what I feel is right conflicts with that set by the law at times, but it hasn't caused me any trouble and it's not likely to happen in the future either.
Here's an interesting read on moral development. It may be slightly off-topic, but it's a good reference on how people relate to the law in different ways.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development
Reply #38 Monday, December 29, 2008 8:47 AM
Society makes the Laws, not Police.
Breaking these laws is 'antisocial'. Successful subsequent prosecution makes it criminal.
If someone wants to be antisocial then one must expect repercussions or ostracism from said society.
How YOU feel about it is immaterial.
How OTHERS feel about it may be more salient...
Reply #39 Monday, December 29, 2008 8:53 AM
Fuzzy....the $20 value made it 'interesting', however the same legality applies to anything 'dropped' and subsequently/inadvertently 'recovered'.
If it were a scrap paper....or a Million dollars....if you assume the original owner is untracable it's still a question of whose property it currently then is...in Legal terms....and the answer is the Council in charge of the street maintenance/cleaning.
Reply #40 Monday, December 29, 2008 9:04 AM
It should belong to the homeless
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Reply #21 Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:26 PM
Whom do you ask permission of when a company has gone out of business, hence their product being "abandonware"?