11-29-2011, 11:09 PM
It is pirating in the sense that you copied it to your PC (regardless of how you did it) since you didn't ask for the copyright holder's permission before doing so. Most countries consider this a legal activity though, while there are cases in the past where distribution companies have attempted to dispute copying for private use only, like recording a movie from the TV. I am thinking of compiling an information thread about this as there is a new thread about it once in a while, and most people don't seem to understand what the word "pirate" means. Frankly, I am not sure I do either, as the word is more ambiguous than I think most are aware of. Your example is proof of this. It's important to note that the legal status of what you did varies between countries. Some countries allow people to create backup copies (download a copy or copy on your own) and only criminalize distribution without the consent of the copyright holder, whereas others criminalize any kind of behavior that involves copying without the copyright holder's consent even if it is for private use only.
I think most of the missunderstandings regarding copyright is that people don't seem to understand copyright is exactly that - the right to copy and distribute intellectual property. The copy of Crisis Core you bought is that, a COPY. The money you paid for it is the proof of your agreement between you and the copyright holder that you have the right to attain a copy of Crisis Core, but you do not actually own the copy per se, the copyright holder does (in this case, Square Enix). You just basically paid Square Enix to allow you to get a copy of Crisis Core you can call your own and they will almost allow you to do whatever you want with it. Sex is perfectly fine, but distributing it further for financial gain is not.
This part of the copyright policy (I won't call it a law, as it is not a law in all countries in that sense) infringed upon the consumer is very obvious when it comes to intellectual property shared over the internet, like World of Warcraft. Whereas the game client itself is free, the account that you need to run the client is not. The account isn't yours but still Blizzard Entertainment/Actvision's, you just pay to use it but Blizzard can cancel your account at any time, should they see a need for it. You cannot do something about this, as you agree to this in their Terms of Service.
Same thing applies to games you buy physically, they are just physical.
I think most of the missunderstandings regarding copyright is that people don't seem to understand copyright is exactly that - the right to copy and distribute intellectual property. The copy of Crisis Core you bought is that, a COPY. The money you paid for it is the proof of your agreement between you and the copyright holder that you have the right to attain a copy of Crisis Core, but you do not actually own the copy per se, the copyright holder does (in this case, Square Enix). You just basically paid Square Enix to allow you to get a copy of Crisis Core you can call your own and they will almost allow you to do whatever you want with it. Sex is perfectly fine, but distributing it further for financial gain is not.
This part of the copyright policy (I won't call it a law, as it is not a law in all countries in that sense) infringed upon the consumer is very obvious when it comes to intellectual property shared over the internet, like World of Warcraft. Whereas the game client itself is free, the account that you need to run the client is not. The account isn't yours but still Blizzard Entertainment/Actvision's, you just pay to use it but Blizzard can cancel your account at any time, should they see a need for it. You cannot do something about this, as you agree to this in their Terms of Service.
Same thing applies to games you buy physically, they are just physical.