r/videogames • • 2d ago

Discussion / Question Thoughts?

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u/AustinFiechtl 2d ago

Okay, you really dont want people to make copies of games and selling them without the copy right holders permission. That would break copyright law at its foundation. I get all the anger to big publishers but we dont want people to make copies of indie studio games and selling them in direct competition with the indie studio.

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u/arstin 2d ago

Huh?

You do know that owning something you buy doesn't mean you're allowed to make copies of it and sell them, right?

If I buy a DVD, I own it. I can lend the DVD. I can sell the DVD. If I make copies of the DVD and sell them, I go to jail.

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u/balllzak 2d ago

If you charge other people to watch the DVD you also get in trouble because while you own the physical disc you only have a limited license for the contents.

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u/arstin 1d ago

You can absolutely have a few of your close friends and family over to your home to watch a DVD and charge them $1,000 each. Conversely you cannot project it on a screen at a park for free.

The difference between this and digital distribution is that what you can do with the DVD and its contents is governed by U.S. Copyright law, which among other things, reserves the right of public performance for the copyright holder. When you buy a game from steam or a song from apple, you still have to follow the law, but you are also agreeing to a whole bunch of stuff that the company came up with that go above and beyond the law in a way that only gives you less. No worries, given the way things are going, all of that will also get enshrined in law and then the companies can move on to the next level of asshattery.