From: dao4@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (DONALD A. O'SHALL)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
Subject: Re: Aren't you worried?
Date: 10 Jan 93 01:57:17 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

In article <C0IHyn.M63@srgenprp.sr.hp.com>, darrylo@hpsrdmo.sr.hp.com (Darryl Ok
ahata) writes:
>sl3nf@cc.usu.edu (sl3nf@cc.usu.edu) wrote:
>>      I've noticed a lot of people on this group posting or asking for cracks
>> for games.  I've done my share of hacking/cracking, but isn't anyone worried
>> about the problems involved with blatantly telling everyone that you want to
do
>> something illeagal?  Jail terms are a possibility for copywright violations.
>
>     It's much more likely that some university or company will get
>sued, which will result in News being cut off.
>

You seem to think that the only people who want cracks are thieves with
pirated software or the pirates themselves. I am a legitimate user with a long
list of gripes that cracks would solve. I have a piece of software I failed to
register and after solving, misplaced its code wheel. Now my son is interested
in playing it, but cannot until I find it. I have tons of code wheels and
books littering my computer area and my son's, which irritates the neatnik in
me. I have software that I wanted to let my son use, but which is on a
different disk format and has disk-based copy protection. On the other hand I
recently bought another game on the wrong format as a holiday gift for him,
and he was not deprived of its long-awaited use because it featured NO copy
protection. How much nicer that was. I don't want to start another Pirating
thread, but I sincerely believe that Copy Protection is the Legitimate
Software Producer's defense against illegitimate users, thieves and
pirates, and that Cracks are SOMETIMES a Legitimate User's defense against
being mistaken for an illegitimate User, Pirate or Thief. I would tend to
believe that Cracking in and of itself cannot be a crime since it does not
violate Copyright, only Copy Protection Schemes. The Copyright remains in
effect and violators of Copyright law using such cracks to do so are subject
to the full extent of the law, but a legitimate user using such cracks to
reduce the irritation of his AUTHORIZED and LEGITIMATE use under copyright law
would not be in violation. In most libraries in the United States are books
that include a section on lock-picking, and how to do it. This is legal. There
are people who use the methods in these books to burglarize buildings. This is
illegal, and though they may not get caught right away, eventually they will,
and the extent of knowledge in the violation will usually mean they will not
get "first offender" status. It is illegal to duplicate books on a copy
machine. This violates Copyright law. It is NOT illegal to own or use copy
machines or even to make copies of portions of a book you own for the purposes
of preparing a report, etc., and it is CERTAINLY not illegal for me to tell
you how to operate a copy machine.

-- 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am not licensed to practice Law or Medicine in any State, so my opinions are
just that!         DAo4@NS1.CC.LEHIGH.EDU      (Don)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games