Illegal Amiga software, what are the rules (US)

[jkirk]

What kind of penalty would you get if you got caught downloading a couple of Amiga games?

you open yourself up to a lawsuit in which you will have to pay restitution. whether that happens or not depends on the company that owns the ip.

E-Bay and other web sites does offer these games from time to time.

that is probably your best source just make sure the ones you are bidding on are not pirated.

Has there been report of any cases lately of people getting fined for downloading Amiga games.

haven't heard of any but that does not mean they don't happen.

@uncharted

(it's against T&C),

?? whatcha talkin about? asking questions is not against t&c(unless your question is where do i find pirated downloads.)

[jkirk]

uncharted wrote:

Perhaps I'm being paranoid :crazy:, however, I was thinking more along the lines of No posting about illegal activities, as it's IMO basically asking whether it's worth doing a crime, and what the chances are of getting caught doing that crime.

With stupid copyright laws and bottom-feeding lawyers to enforce them, one can't be too careful IMHO.  I'd rather try to be helpful in a more legal way. :-)

i can understand you pov and yes it gives pause as to the answer.

technically this is not a crime and is not illegal. it instead unlawful(not supported by the law) and copyright infringement. a crime puts you in jail. copyright infringement siphons your pocketbook.

[jkirk]

ricco32097 wrote:
I guess my question should had been: 'Is Amiga software still under copyright?'

i guess the best way to answer is that it will never be out of copyright. as content comes up for expiration of copyright(mickey mouse springs to mind) the copyright holders petition to keep their copyright. with money under their belts they usually get their way and the smaller copyrights get extensions as a result. who knows when this will end.

[jkirk]

uncharted wrote:

jkirk wrote:

technically this is not a crime and is not illegal. it instead unlawful(not supported by the law) and copyright infringement. a crime puts you in jail. copyright infringement siphons your pocketbook.

IIRC here in the UK it is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.  Wikipedia seems to back this up, however that doesn't necessarily mean anything. :-)

 :-o what!!!!

just remind me not to go there then. :crazy: