Download a bought but lost game

[Methodius234]

Hi
I have bought a videogame but later I lost it somewhere. Now I am thinking about the option to download the game from the internet, not the videogame-company, and play.

Is this okay because I have paid for the game or is it not okay?

 

[anon65111186]

Is this okay because I have paid for the game or is it not okay?

No because that is like saying I bought a book and lost it, can I take one from Barnes and Noble for free.

Products have liscenses and methods for getting refunds or replacements, outside of that is illegal means aka downloads.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I don’t know where you live, copyright laws differ from country to Country. That said, I can’t encourage you to do something that breaks a completely just law.

 

[exnihilo]

Is this okay because I have paid for the game or is it not okay?

It possibly violates Intellectual Property laws. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is wrong. Personally I’d have no problem with it.

No because that is like saying I bought a book and lost it, can I take one from Barnes and Noble for free.

Not really. In that case Barnes and Nobles would be out of an actual good. In this case no one is actually deprived of his property.

 

[krishten001]

I completely understand how you feel with the lost of video game. I too recommend to download the game from the internet. I can also suggest you to download the game from the Google play which may help you in case if you lost the game progress they may help you. I’d like to advise you should contact the videogame-company they may also help you with any alternatives.

 

[aardvark321]

The issue would mainly be with copyright laws…I don’t think a physical or digital purchase of a game entitles you to a replacement copy… (In countries where you can make a backup copy of music etc it has to be one that you yourself make I believe…and I’m not sure if it’s legal to copy a video game they probably in general have some encryption that it is unlawful to breach).

Could also be cooperation with evil since going to some of these sites which are hosting illegal activity, you are giving them traffic enabling them to continue…when in reality they do not have the rights to distribute copies of these games…and you would have no access to them had these people not sinned by violating the rights of the game publisher…

If it were me I would buy the game again if I couldnt find it…have done so several times in the past as I tend to lose things.

 

[TheLittleLady]

If you lost the controller for your video game, is it okay to go to someone else’s house and take one without their permission?

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

Presumably the site he’d been downloading it from doesn’t have permission from the owner of the software to make it freely available. It’s a form of theft.

Not saying it’s the crime of the century or anything, but the owner of the software/license is still being deprived of his property rights.

 

[anon65111186]

Not really. In that case Barnes and Nobles would be out of an actual good. In this case no one is actually deprived of his property.

True in that sense, but the principal is that if you can’t get it legitimately, then it’s illegal.

 

[exnihilo]

Not saying it’s the crime of the century or anything, but the owner of the software/license is still being deprived of his property rights.

It is in my opinion like speeding. Most people here probably speed from time to time. The owner is deprived of property rights but I’m not sure these rights are legitimate and even if they are property rights are not unlimited.

True in that sense, but the principal is that if you can’t get it legitimately, then it’s illegal.

I don’t doubt it most likely is illegal.

I think the bigger issue is the person making the game available is possibly engaged in a much more problematic activity. By downloading we would ourselves be participating in that and lending our support in a sense.

 

[TheLittleLady]

It is in my opinion like speeding. Most people here probably speed from time to time. The owner is deprived of property rights but I’m not sure these rights are legitimate and even if they are property rights are not unlimited.

We are commanded to obey just laws.

The speed limit is a just law.

To break that law is sinful. It may be venial or mortal depending on the standard conditions.

 

[exnihilo]

I don’t disagree, but speed limits aren’t that simple. Driving 45 mph when everyone else is going 60 isn’t right. Every law isn’t a just law all of the time.

 

[TheLittleLady]

The “everyone else is doing it” argument does not usually come out as reasonable.

 

[Mintaka]

The easiest thing to do would be to wait until the game is discounted somewhere, like Steam, and buy it again. Then you don’t have to worry about downloading malware.

The difficulty is that some software licenses actually permit you to make multiple copies for yourself, so in that case you would have some justification for downloading a replacement copy. But if you don’t have the software at your place, it’s a little bit hard to look up the terms and conditions of the license!

If the company has gone out of business and the game has been orphaned, or if the game is out of print or not available for a “reasonable price,” then you actually have certain rights to obtain replacement copies, under US copyright law. (Your country may differ.) But again, you have to watch out for malware.

 

[exnihilo]

The “everyone else is doing it” argument does not usually come out as reasonable.

It doesn’t make something intrinsically wrong OK. But some laws are about making society orderly. If by following the law you are making things disorderly then you aren’t being virtuous. Laws have to exist for some good other than just following them.

 

[cj76]

Not ok. Let this be a learning experience to take better care of your things. Save up money for another game and you will appreciate the game more and not be in the moral grey area.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

We are commanded to obey just laws.

The speed limit is a just law.

To break that law is sinful. It may be venial or mortal depending on the standard conditions.

If I obeyed all speed limits, I would be impeding the traffic flow severely in a number of places. People also routinely must drive above the speed limit in order to pass other cars in the passing lanes.

With the exception of certain strict enforcement zones like school zones and other areas that are typically indicated as “target enforcement” or “strictly enforced” on the signs, the police generally expect you to drive about 10 miles higher than posted limit, mostly because their technology to determine you are speeding is unreliable for violations of less than that. Most posted speed limits are set with the expectation that people will drive about 10 miles faster.

Furthermore, I could point you to a number of cities where speeding laws are arguably not “just laws” for many reasons. A notorious speed trap near my hometown has been challenged in court a number of times and the challengers have won several judgments; the legislature is also trying to put the speed trap out of business.

Things are not so black and white.