is this legal?

[nosisab Ken Keleh]

Nowadays, digital download is common. In my opinion, if you own games, you can download the ISOs. Anyway, it might be illegal, technically.

The formats change as well.

Legality is hard to treat and common sense may help distinguishing the right from wrong, but not sufficient.

The main problem being legality is local issue and may change from place to place. So that common sense should tell you to keep the local regulation about it. As so, follow the site's rules and be happy, or pay the price otherwise.

To help conscience, even if making the ISO from your legitimate copy is ruled illegal someday in the future, it is not so now and so it's not illegal. Whatever else is illegal under the regulations this site is mounted upon and treated as so.

Edit: to correct the typo where was spelled "or pay the prince otherwise" ... although myself thinking was a fun typo

[Blyss Sarania]

One thing I'd like to add is the difference between illegallity and morality.

For instance:

If I download a software that I don't own, that's illegal, and immoral(stealing.)
If I download a copy of a software I do own(like a PS2 ISO), that's illegal, but not immoral(the devs still got paid, no one got hurt).

Here is a fun law type question. Let's say I own a copy of FFX on a DVD. I bought it, legitimately. I make an ISO of this disc. I sell my copy of FFX to someone online. I mail him the physical disc, and provide him a link to download the ISO I made. He downloads it(and it's a private link, so no one else does), I destroy my copy of the ISO and the online link.

End result: The physical FFX DVD and an ISO of it were transferred from me to him. Obviously I don't think anyone would say this was morally wrong. But legally? Hmmm.

[Akio]

Nobody really cares about this anyway. No company will ever file a lawsuit against their customer who downloaded an ISO of the game he purchased. And if they won the case, they would get nothing because they already got paid.

I studied law a little bit. One of the most important attributes of law is enforcement. If there is no enforcement, the law is ineffective. In this case, nobody will enforce it because doing so is utterly pointless. In short, it might be technically illegal, but nobody cares.

[nosisab Ken Keleh]

The fine point is: This site does not care about what the user thinks or does in his/her own machine and mind. Just don't bring out anything which could harm the site as whole and it's OK by the rules.

PS, translating: The site hasn't responsibility to police the users in their's own affairs. It is concerned only with itself.

Another way to look at it is: the site will try being educational and is to believe most users here understand that buying the games, even if they are old, helps the developers continue producing, and this is good to everyone. But being correctional is not its responsibility unless it is harmed or potentially so.

[Brock lessner]

The real truth is that nobody really cares about rules and regulation ! Lets take our newbie member who wanted help and cant get help due to downloaded iso ! [that doent mean i supported pirecy] and in which 95% of people does that! Dont they? Frankly, how much people does that! And what sony can do against him ! Answer is nothing! But still i say ididnt support pirecy ! Even the console get discontinewed and no more games are devolope for them now !

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The fine point is: This site does not care about what the user thinks or does in his/her own machine and mind. Just don't bring out anything which could harm the site as whole and it's OK by the rules.

PS, translating: The site hasn't responsibility to police the users in their's own affairs. It is concerned only with itself.

totally agreed with you!

[dokman]

The fine point is: This site does not care about what the user thinks or does in his/her own machine and mind. Just don't bring out anything which could harm the site as whole and it's OK by the rules.

PS, translating: The site hasn't responsibility to police the users in their's own affairs. It is concerned only with itself.

Another way to look at it is: the site will try being educational and is to believe most users here understand that buying the games, even if they are old, helps the developers continue producing, and this is good to everyone. But being correctional is not its responsibility unless it is harmed or potentially so.

Yes i have like 50 games in dvd and i maded a backup from all dvd to iso but all are legal ^^

[MenDude]

Crap, I wanted to get SwapDisc so that I can play my backups again, I already had 4 discs of that same thing, but they all ended up breaking.

Or maybe it was a certain game that broke my PS2 so that most games wont play on it... That game... I would kill the person who made it... :'(

Btw, I have another question regarding the current topic: Is downloading a prototype of a game illegal when the prototype is free/not for sale anywhere? (An example is the Crash Bandicoot 1 Prototype, not sure about the others.)

[Blyss Sarania]

Crap, I wanted to get SwapDisc so that I can play my backups again, I already had 4 discs of that same thing, but they all ended up breaking.

Or maybe it was a certain game that broke my PS2 so that most games wont play on it... That game... I would kill the person who made it... :'(

Btw, I have another question regarding the current topic: Is downloading a prototype of a game illegal when the prototype is free/not for sale anywhere? (An example is the Crash Bandicoot 1 Prototype, not sure about the others.)

I mean, it's still copyrighted code and content. I think it would be illegal. Unless of course the copyright owner said it was public domain.

[nosisab Ken Keleh]

Anyway, there is a saying: The fish dies by the mouth... so true.

[Akio]

Is downloading a prototype of a game illegal when the prototype is free/not for sale anywhere? (An example is the Crash Bandicoot 1 Prototype, not sure about the others.)

If you download it from the owner's website, it's legal. But if the owner doesn't allow others to distribute it, then downloading it from an unauthorized website is illegal. If you're not sure, you can ask the copyright owner.