Is this illegal or sinful

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MaeganFlinchum1

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I have the sims 3 game on a computer. And I am not going to uninstall it because thats the computer I want it on. But I want to also put it on my laptop and play it there occasionally. Is it illegal?? Or sinful?? Thank you
 
This is the wrong forum for this, it’s probably better suited for moral theology.

That said, if you own the game, why shouldn’t you be able to play it on multiple computers? It may be illegal, but I see no reason why it should be.

But take my advice carefully, because I am anti-IP (in other words, I find copyrights and patents immoral).
 
smndtupidisaftr said:
This is the wrong forum for this, it’s probably better suited for moral theology.

That said, if you own the game, why shouldn’t you be able to play it on multiple computers? It may be illegal, but I see no reason why it should be.

But take my advice carefully, because I am anti-IP (in other words, I find copyrights and patents immoral).
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Sorry I realize now it is definetly In the wrong place. And I dont see anything wrong with it either. I paid for the game…but I just want the Churches teachings.
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
Sorry I realize now it is definetly In the wrong place. And I dont see anything wrong with it either. I paid for the game…but I just want the Churches teachings.
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It will be up to your prudence, because there is no specific teaching on copying software from one computer to another. 😉
 
I do not believe this to be sinful, no. Illegal, I don’t think so either. You own a copy of the software, not a license, as far as I know.
 
Question: Do you want to copy the software or just install it twice from the same disk?

If the disk permits you to copy it twice, I’m sure it is fine, and if not, then it is likely that the game is only intended for one computer.
 
dshix said:
Question: Do you want to copy the software or just install it twice from the same disk?

If the disk permits you to copy it twice, I’m sure it is fine, and if not, then it is likely that the game is only intended for one computer.
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Just installing it twice. It says on my disc. Not to copy or reproduce it. And it let me do it just fine.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
It’s fine to install it on more than one computer, but not give it to a friend to install.
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That seems to be the best idea. Think about it this way: you bought the CD. All you’re doing by installing it on multiple computers is allowing yourself to play it more easily. You’re not selling it to other people or anything like that.
 
MaeganFlinchum1 said:
I have the sims 3 game on a computer. And I am not going to uninstall it because thats the computer I want it on. But I want to also put it on my laptop and play it there occasionally. Is it illegal?? Or sinful?? Thank you
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As far as the legality of it goes, you’re bound by the terms of the license. Sometimes they let you put it on several computers as long as only one copy is used at a time. Other times they are explicit that you are allowed to make only one copy of the distribution media for backup, purposes only. So my advice is to read the terms of the license agreement. It will be pretty clear.

As for whether or not it’s a sin… The general principle is that we are obliged to obey all just laws. It has been my experience that whether or not a person thinks the copyright laws are “just” often depends on whether or not they have produced any intellectual property they want to protect. I think it’s really hard to make a moral case against most intellectual property laws.

People and companies invest a great deal of time, money, effort, and risk in producing, marketing, supporting, maintaining, and improving computer programs. While many excellent software programs are in the public domain, or available for free because of the open source movement, a program’s author/owner is under no moral obligation to give his work away for free. And if he/she chooses not to do so, then you are not free to use it against their will.

Whether or not making an extra copy, though, would be considered “grave matter” is a another question that I’m not prepared to go into right now.
 
TechMan said:
As for whether or not it’s a sin… The general principle is that we are obliged to obey all just laws. It has been my experience that whether or not a person thinks the copyright laws are “just” often depends on whether or not they have produced any intellectual property they want to protect. I think it’s really hard to make a moral case against most intellectual property laws.
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I disagree. Stephen Kinsella wrote a book against IP, and conveniently enough it is available free online.

mises.org/document/3582/Against-Intellectual-Property
 
smndtupidisaftr said:
I disagree. Stephen Kinsella wrote a book against IP, and conveniently enough it is available free online.

mises.org/document/3582/Against-Intellectual-Property
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I will agree to disagree with you, myself. Stephen Kinsella is a nobody to me with no moral authority in my life. Since those who do have the moral authority (Pope, USCCB, local ordinary, pastors) have remained completely silent on the issue of intellectual property, I shall assume that they embrace and accept these laws as just, and I consider myself subject to them, just like the other just laws of the USA (as opposed to attacks on Holy Church such as the HHS mandate enshrined in ObamaTax).

TechMan has offered the only comprehensive and correct answer in this thread. Read your license agreement. Obey just laws. Don’t pirate stuff. It’s selfish.

On the flipside, for content creators, I recommend permissive licensing. Look how many bands have broken out because they put their MP3s up for free distribution. Look how much great software out there is Free and Open Source. Look at Wikipedia, whose content is written entirely free of charge by volunteers. Aside from my five-digit Wikipedia edit count, I long ago contributed a file to Emacs, open source, and it felt good.
 
I posted the book because the argument against IP is rather lengthy, but I would encourage you to read it as it is very interesting.
 
Well, thank you for your contribution. I am certainly no fan of IP, even with avocations of programming and singing. I prefer to live in a world of freely available information, and I usually don’t pay for software or music, myself. However, I obey laws scrupulously, and I think that widespread piracy really makes a dent in the livelihoods of content producers such as small software houses and singer/songwriters. I believe that electronic distribution of media is a blessing and a curse at once. It has made it easier than ever to get our hands on books and music and video, but it has made it a nightmare for the big conglomerates with a Mafia-style hold on the industry and contributed to a Byzantine maze of IP law and DRM encryption and other schemes to pass the headache on to law-abiding citizens. Just look at what is happening to computers. My friend commented that he always foresaw the restriction of applications to approved programs only, but he never imagined that it would simply be the result of a form factor change (phones and tablets - only run software approved on the App Stores.)

We have come a long way since the printing press revolutionized the way we get our information. The computer has revolutionized it again. For better or for worse, digital distribution is here to stay. I personally feel that the answer is permissive and alternative licensing. But I feel that freedom of information will never gain the popularity it needs while big business is in charge of most of the distribution.
 
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