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Difference between revisions of "Copyright FAQ"
→What am I allowed to download free of charge?: Grouping items as "Downloads with the permission of the copyright holders"
(→Which other games am I allowed to download legally?: Remove link to defunct website and add links to wikipedia lists) |
Thunderforge (talk | contribs) (→What am I allowed to download free of charge?: Grouping items as "Downloads with the permission of the copyright holders") |
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Providing support for obviously "warezed" versions of games could create the impression that ScummVM promotes copyright violations. Needless to say, this is not in the interest of the ScummVM developers. Game companies often keep a close eye on projects which are re-implementing their game engines; any negative connotation makes it more likely for a project to be shut down. | Providing support for obviously "warezed" versions of games could create the impression that ScummVM promotes copyright violations. Needless to say, this is not in the interest of the ScummVM developers. Game companies often keep a close eye on projects which are re-implementing their game engines; any negative connotation makes it more likely for a project to be shut down. | ||
In addition "warezed" versions of games downloaded from random websites may have been modified to include exploits that could compromise your computer. | |||
==Game XY isn't being sold any more. Is it ok to download it?== | ==Game XY isn't being sold any more. Is it ok to download it?== | ||
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==What about abandonware?== | ==What about abandonware?== | ||
Abandonware is not a proper legal concept. Copyright of computer software seems to end 95 years after publication (at least in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States#Duration_of_copyright USA]). Feel free to check back in around 2080 if you're allowed to download the games then. | Abandonware is not a proper legal concept in any country. Just like how it’s not legal to copy a book under copyright because it is out-of-print, it is not legal to copy a game under copyright because the company is no longer selling it. | ||
Copyright of computer software seems to end 95 years after publication (at least in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States#Duration_of_copyright USA]). Feel free to check back in around 2080 if you're allowed to download the games then. | |||
==What am I allowed to download free of charge?== | ==What am I allowed to download free of charge?== | ||
* | * Downloads with the permission of the copyright holders | ||
** [[Where to get the games#Freeware Games|The freeware games]] | |||
** [https://www.scummvm.org/demos Demos] of copyrighted games | |||
** [https://www.scummvm.org/games/#sword1 Video packs] for [[Broken Sword 1]] and [[Broken Sword 2]] | |||
* Most homebrew games made with [[AGI/Fan Games|AGI]], [[SCI/Fan Games|SCI]], and [[Wintermute/Games|Wintermute]] | |||
* | |||
* [[ | |||
* [https://www.scummvm.org/demos | |||
* [https://www.scummvm.org/games/#sword1 | |||
* [[ScummVM]] itself, of course :) | * [[ScummVM]] itself, of course :) | ||