Snaking and Piracy

[nmaster64]

I think what your friend is referring to is the legal right to have a backup of any item you own. For instance, a couple times I've scratched one of my PC games discs, and then it was legal for me to go download the .iso, because I had bought the game...

[Sparks]

Or he may have been referring to the fact that some programs you download, say that it's alright for you to share the program with your friends, but they so also say that if they catch you distributing it on a website, then you can be taken to court. It says it in the license agreement on those particular programs.

Not all EULA's are created equal.

For the most part, companies just want to stop you from distributing their programs on a wide scale without proper compensation. So, if you lend the software to a friend of yours, there's not really a huge problem there. They'd prefer that friend eventually buy the software, but so long as you're not profiting from them, they won't come after you. The reason that it's such a crime to put it up for availability on a website is because the simple fact that more people will be able to access it. Instead of that one friend, suddenly millions of people have the ability to access the program and use on their own without payment for said program. You're essentially screwing them out of a load of cash rather than a single retail unit value.

It's all in the license agreements...

[Autocon]

Originally Posted by nmaster64

I think what your friend is referring to is the legal right to have a backup of any item you own. For instance, a couple times I've scratched one of my PC games discs, and then it was legal for me to go download the .iso, because I had bought the game...

Does this mean Nintendo is screwing with my legal rights because all their instruction books CLEARLY state it is illegal to own a backup of any Nintendo software in any form.

[nmaster64]

Originally Posted by Autocon

Does this mean Nintendo is screwing with my legal rights because all their instruction books CLEARLY state it is illegal to own a backup of any Nintendo software in any form.

Yes actually. You technically have the legal right to make one backup for personal use...

[Autocon]

Then why is DRM such a big issue, and why are so many companies pushing for DRM if it violates my rights? Where exactly is this backup law written? I'm just curious because of all the hype surrounding music companies and movie companies (and the fact programs that can crack DVD protection are illegal in the US, making a "legal" backup impossible under current laws).

[nmaster64]

Yeah, exactly. It's totally ****ed up. We just can't win. The RIAA doesn't give a **** about our rights...all they care about is money...

Originally Posted by Guy questioning lawyer

I hear a lot that the RIAA has the weakest evidence ever in these cases. Such as screen shots of dynamic IP addresses - http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13747 - taken from Kazaa. How the hell do judges across this country uphold these cases with such lack of concrete evidence? I mean, give me five minutes in photoshop and I'll make you a "screenshot" of Kazaa with www.whitehouse.gov's IP address listed over and over on it. Can't an expert witness cause this evidence to be thrown out quickly?

Originally Posted by Lawyer (who specializes in RIAA cases)

I've tried, eldavojohn, I've tried. Look at our court papers in Motown v. Does 1-149. The judge didn't want to hear a word I was saying. You are absolutely correct that the entire underpinning of each case is a joke. An astute judge would laugh them out of court, as the Netherlands and Canadian courts have done.

See? They don't even win their cases legally. It's corruption down to the very core.

[Pilot_51]

Originally Posted by nmaster64

I think what your friend is referring to is the legal right to have a backup of any item you own.

No, he was clearly talking about something that wasn't common whatsoever, it was more confusing than the whole backup thing and almost made the RIAA sound like their very existence is illegal.

[Sir Realism]

While I still hold that snaking isn't a form of cheating (unless someone has official proof from a reputable source that it is), I don't see the connection between it and piracy.

I suppose it could be that you're "cheating" the RIAA out of money but even still, the RIAA is making more money than they would have gotten if the people didn't steal music. They wouldn't have even bought the songs legally in the first place.

[nmaster64]

Originally Posted by Sir Realism

While I still hold that snaking isn't a form of cheating (unless someone has official proof from a reputable source that it is), I don't see the connection between it and piracy.

There is no connection, other than them both being "morally wrong". Anybody who trys to connect them is straight-up retarted.

Snaking isN'T cheating because it's built in to the game, plain and simple. Cheating implys something that's illegal or unfair. Snaking is fair because anybody can do it if you've got the skillz...

Cheap != Cheat