Post by leunas on Nov 27, 2006 23:27:01 GMT -5
"Abandonware" is not legal. Please stop it. Some people may circumvent copy prevention schemes on software they own in order to access that software. That is all. It mentions libraries and archives, not end users, which seems a rather important point. If a library owns a copy of Defender of the Crown by Cinemaware and can't get the fast loader (V-Max!) to work with their Commodore 1541 drive, it now appears that on Monday they could legally crack the program so it doesn't use the fast loader. An archive can't find its hardware dongle to access some old, obsolete program? That archive may now have a right to work around that hardware without running afoul of the anticircumvention part of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. And any such activity which is now permitted is only permitted between 27 November 2006 and 27 October 2009, i.e. for a limited time.
That is all.
Again, that's what it appears to say -- I'd consult an attorney to make sure you are actually affected by this ruling. It isn't clear to me that this even applies to a normal software owner like me since I'm not a library or archive. I'm certainly not going to advise anyone that their situation has changed.
You still may not distribute copies of someone else's software, cracked or not. There is no such thing as "make sure the games really are abandonware". You shouldn't be winking and saying "rarely do any abandonware cases go to court". If you're not an attorney, you probably shouldn't be giving out that kind of advice.
So just fricking stop it.
Here is what you need to read, excerpted from the DMCA page on the Library of Congress website, my emphasis added:
Persons making noninfringing uses of the following six classes of works will not be subject to the prohibition against circumventing access controls (17 U.S.C. ยง 1201(a)(1)) during the next three years.
[...]
2. Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and that require the original media or hardware as a condition of access, when circumvention is accomplished for the purpose of preservation or archival reproduction of published digital works by a library or archive. A format shall be considered obsolete if the machine or system necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.
3. Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete. A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.
[...]
These exemptions will go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register on November 27, 2006 and will remain in effect through October 27, 2009.
Am I a lawyer? Heck no. So feel free to correct me in the comments, if you see something I missed. (This is the point at which Bob normally comes out and slaps me around. I like it.)
curmudgeongamer.com/2006/11/abandonware-still-not-legal-people.html
That is all.
Again, that's what it appears to say -- I'd consult an attorney to make sure you are actually affected by this ruling. It isn't clear to me that this even applies to a normal software owner like me since I'm not a library or archive. I'm certainly not going to advise anyone that their situation has changed.
You still may not distribute copies of someone else's software, cracked or not. There is no such thing as "make sure the games really are abandonware". You shouldn't be winking and saying "rarely do any abandonware cases go to court". If you're not an attorney, you probably shouldn't be giving out that kind of advice.
So just fricking stop it.
Here is what you need to read, excerpted from the DMCA page on the Library of Congress website, my emphasis added:
Persons making noninfringing uses of the following six classes of works will not be subject to the prohibition against circumventing access controls (17 U.S.C. ยง 1201(a)(1)) during the next three years.
[...]
2. Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and that require the original media or hardware as a condition of access, when circumvention is accomplished for the purpose of preservation or archival reproduction of published digital works by a library or archive. A format shall be considered obsolete if the machine or system necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.
3. Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete. A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.
[...]
These exemptions will go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register on November 27, 2006 and will remain in effect through October 27, 2009.
Am I a lawyer? Heck no. So feel free to correct me in the comments, if you see something I missed. (This is the point at which Bob normally comes out and slaps me around. I like it.)
curmudgeongamer.com/2006/11/abandonware-still-not-legal-people.html