The Legality Of No-CD Cracks

Post by **Avi** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:18 am

Hi guys. I would like some input on this issue, if you don't mind.

All of my game CD's are in storage indefinitely. For the most part, they are lost in this room full of boxes stacked 6 feet high and ten feet deep. With my schedule, I don't have time to sort through them all to locate the one box that contains all of my PC software...so a few things have gone through my mind. I have read on several sites that it is legal to use these patches if you own the software, but I have also heard on other sites that it is not legal by any means. If it is illegal, I'll just have to wait a long time until I move into my house and clear the storage area out.

I found a site that has all of the patches for all of the games that I own. To honor the integrity of these forums I won't post a link here. I just would like some advice before I do something that is frowned upon.

Post by **xistence** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:38 am

As far as i know the current rights say that you are not allowed to pass by any security or protection system, regardless what kind of media or if you own the original or not, because you try to modify/pass by parts of the program which is not allowed. And as you buy the game and installing it, you automatically agree to a agreement that mostly exactly saying this. So this action can be handled as breaking the law, but don't have to in all cases. It is always a thing that will be decided from case to case if it comes in front of the law, and you might have luck or not.
As long you are not expecting to be visited by the police, it is on you to decide to use cracks or not, you have to decided how high the risc might be for you.
Don't know if this helps you.

YouTube · Post by **TronFAQ** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:55 pm

Like X said, the EULA of any software you buy expressly prohibits you from altering or reverse-engineering the code, or breaking any encryption used on the software.

However, these measures are directly in conflict with your fair use rights. What gives the software publishers the right to prevent you from making a copy legitimately meant for backup purposes?

As far as I'm concerned, the legalities involved in all of this fall into one huge grey area. It's a mess. Therefore, I feel no guilt or regret whenever I use cracks as long as I purchased the software.

If someone uses a crack in order to use software they downloaded for free . . . well, if they are dumb enough to ask for help and admit they pirated the program, then I usually have little sympathy for them.

Post by **win3k** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:45 am

Morning chaps

There's a few issues to consider here. First one being that I am not a lawyer.

From a strictly legal perspective, any 3rd party application that circumvents software protection is usually against the terms of the EULA, so using a no-DVD crack puts you in breach of contract. Fair use principles may apply, but that is dependent upon (a) where you live and (b) whether a comparable EULA clause has been ruled unconscionable by a competent court in the area where you live.

From a moral perspective, I have no problem with using no-DVD cracks etc for products that I have purchased.

From a practical perspective, using a no-DVD crack is probably not sufficient reason for the publishers to set their attack dogs onto you. They are much more concerned with either the folks that made the crack, or those that are uploading cracked ISOs to torrents. Do bear in mind that (a) the whole warez scene is rotten with malware and (b) some cracks can actually break your ability to play certain titles on-line (Valve, for example, routinely gets the big stick of bannage out and liberally applies it to the heads of those that seek to play for free).

win3k

Post by **SweatyPyro** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:12 pm

I would just like to add that it would be a better idea to get those cracks for games that you play on Single-player... The whole multi-player concept can be a mess with certain games, just like win3k said.

Post by **Avi** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:18 pm

Yeah, I tried a few patches and noticed that instead of having a few hundred available servers for BF2, I could only join about 10 (and the pings were horrible). The same went for Halo and a few other games. This was due to me having a different version of the game than most people since the program had been compromised with the crack.

So, I decided to get into my storage shed and dig out my software. After about 20 minutes I was able to locate my box of CD's and have reinstalled all of the games that I tried the no-CD cracks on. The only benefit I got was that I was able to play a few single player games...which I don't usually do, but it was better than nothing.

Post by **Jademz** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:20 pm

I have mixed emotion on this topic. for example (and my only example),
I'm working on a video project, that requires multiple instances of Tron 2.0 running, and with the amount of bad cd's I've bought (3 out of 7), and lost 4 of them, I don't have proof on 3 of them. So, they stopped support, all'z fair. Court ajourned.

But, in reality, some legal rammication, is a logical method to fix money problems, and social quams. go figure..