Doom 3 question

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AY786

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
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I just wondered, i will be setting up a wireless lan between my computer (main) and my brothers computer. I just wondered, i have doom 3 installed on my computer but would i need to purchase another copy of doom 3 to play over a lan with my brother or can we play using the same copy installed on 2 computers?
 
You have to use two different copies if I recall correctly.

BTW just so you know, installing one copy on two computers is illegal.
 
Dan_D said:
You have to use two different copies if I recall correctly.

BTW just so you know, installing one copy on two computers is illegal.
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So if I put it on my desktop and my laptop for my personal use I'm breaking the law?

That's a bit extreme. :mad:
 
Could anyone refer me to the U.S. law prohibiting the installation of games/programs on multiple computers owned and solely operated by a single individual? I'm not being an ass, I'm just trying to educate myself. Thanks!

Edit: Just so everyone knows, I'm doing my own search too. I'll report when I find the law(s).
 
Symon14 said:
Could anyone refer me to the U.S. law prohibiting the installation of games/programs on multiple computers owned and solely operated by a single individual? I'm not being an ass, I'm just trying to educate myself. Thanks!

Edit: Just so everyone knows, I'm doing my own search too. I'll report when I find the law(s).
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There is no law.. its in the terms and agreements that you clicked "I accept" when you installed the game. :rolleyes:
 
lloose said:
There is no law.. its in the terms and agreements that you clicked "I accept" when you installed the game. :rolleyes:
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Most likely in that EULA it states something to the effect of they'll prosecute you if you violate the agreement.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but the only agreement of said "law" is withing the EULA or contract you sign, however, if you break it, it just means the contract is null and void but they cannot account for any financial loss to make it breach of contract?
 
I want to say that you are allowed to install in on any number of computers that you own, but you can only play it on one computer at a time (if you only have one CD key). This could be complete BS, but I want to say thats what the rule is.
 
I don't know what the EULA is, or if it's even valid in his state so I'll just answer the question.

If the game needs the disc to start, then after the game is started on one PC remove the disc and use it to start the game on the other PC. This will work with most games.
 
i thought so because when one person is on doom 3 online with one key and then my brother just say tries to play doom 3, it says this cd key is active and wont let him procede, so now i have to buy another copy - great but i guess its worth it in the end, doom 3 is a great game dont you lot agree? It might be old but its still going strong. A doom 4 would be great!
 
Bearing in mind the keys can only be authenticated when the PC's are online, whether you connect your LAN to the internet while you play is of course entirely up to you :)
 
I really thought that the key was for online play...and that if you are running on a lan you could use the same copy. Maybe I'm wrong though.
 
Listen, according to most EULA's and software licensing agreements, (which you must agree to in order to use the software) you can only have one copy in use on one PC. You may not like that, but that's how software licensing works. If you want to use it on another computer, you need another license. That doesn't mean you can't actually have it on more than one computer and just swap CD's around, or only use one copy on the Internet at a time, but the fact is you aren't supposed to do it.

By the way as far as the law is concerned, you can be prosecuted for any breach of contract. You can't legally continue to use software if you violate the EULA. You can in fact be sued by the software company for doing that. Now that rarely happens unless we are talking about Adobe or Microsoft products. Those two companies have actually gone after individuals. Adobe more so than anyone. Microsoft normally only goes after companies, or individuals selling bootleg copies of thier stuff.

In fact many EULA's today even include a no duplication without permission clause which actually means that you can't even copy the disk under the fair use act.
 
I don't know if I could live with myself if I had to buy two copies of Windows ME
 
Dan_D said:
In fact many EULA's today even include a no duplication without permission clause which actually means that you can't even copy the disk under the fair use act.
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I have my doubts about EULA having effect on actual law like this, just because there's something in the EULA doesn't mean they can start bending the law. I feel some research is needed here, do we have anyone on [H] who practices law?
 
Frosteh said:
I have my doubts about EULA having effect on actual law like this, just because there's something in the EULA doesn't mean they can start bending the law. I feel some research is needed here, do we have anyone on [H] who practices law?
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I am pretty sure you can be sued for anything involving any type of breech of contract. Which the EULA essentially is. That doesn't mean that you would face criminal charges, but you could certainly be tried in civil court. Again I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know for sure. If we have any actual Lawyers on the [H] I'd love to hear from them on this.
 
The fog thickens. Here's an excerpt from Wiki concerning EULAs and Copyrights:

For the license to take legal effect, the licenser must be able to present proof that the presumed licensee has been willing to sign away the copy owner rights granted under copyright: The international copyright treaty, Article 4, equates computer programs with literary works. Thus, computer programs are automatically placed under copyright, which grants the copy owner normal rights use, and others fair use of the computer material. The signing away of one's legal rights can normally only be done by a properly signed paper contract, or under some circumstances, orally if supported by witnesses or recordings, or, in even more restricted use, via electronic signatures issued by the local government, as a person charged with violating a license agreement otherwise can merely claim not to know who opened the box or clicked the agreement box in the install software, and it is not possible for the licenser to provide proof of who is the purported licencee, nor has a person accused of breaching a license agreement any obligation to provide such proof. In addition, legal rights can only be signed away if local law admits it; so a properly signed paper contract may not be enough to abrogate copy owners' rights, unless there are special legal provisions admitting it.[verification needed]

The amendment of the United States Code, Chapter 17, codified as 17 USC 117, permits the owner of a copy of a computer program to make copies necessary for the use or backup of a computer program.

Until 117 was enacted, the very act of copying computer software from a storage device into temporary memory may have been prohibited in the United States. Typically, a proprietary software license agreement will interpret 117 in plain English. For example: "You may use the software on one computer, and you may make an additional copy to be used only for backup or archival purposes. You may not otherwise copy, modify [...] the software."

However, a growing number of such licenses are taking advantage of the ambiguous wording within 117 to make a distinction between the "owner" of a copy and one who merely "possesses" a copy by purporting to create a rental agreement in which the publisher of the software retains ownership of the medium on which the software is shipped.
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Yeah that's what I thought.

It's also a very interesting idea that there is no proof that it was you who accepted a licence agreement. I might get a chipmunk and teach it how to accept licence agreements with games that I've purchased :)
 
Frosteh said:
Yeah that's what I thought.

It's also a very interesting idea that there is no proof that it was you who accepted a licence agreement. I might get a chipmunk and teach it how to accept licence agreements with games that I've purchased :)
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I think Alvin would be the easiest target as he seems to be the troublemaker. Simon and Theodore might be tougher to crack.

:rolleyes:
 
EvilTwinSkippy said:
I think Alvin would be the easiest target as he seems to be the troublemaker. Simon and Theodore might be tougher to crack.

:rolleyes:
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I think that kinda sorta just maybe it was a joke. Ha. Ha?

On topic, I always assumed you weren't allowed to copy anything no matter the media or what purpose.
 
bboynitrous said:
I think that kinda sorta just maybe it was a joke. Ha. Ha?
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Ummm.... right. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore ARE chipmunks. Actually, they're THE Chipmunks. It kinda sorta just maybe goes along with the joke. :)

bboynitrous said:
On topic, I always assumed you weren't allowed to copy anything no matter the media or what purpose.
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I think that's what most of us assumed. However, when you start digging into it a little, it doesn't seem to be so cut and dried.
 
It may be possible to sue someone for something like copying software, installing on more than one machine, or just small breaches of EULA's in general but the chance of it happening i would guess are small.

Think about it - these days you can "be sued" for a wide range of things which are far more innocent than copying a CD so the possibility of it is real however it is impractical for a company to want to do so.

Or thats my opinion anyway :)
 
You've been able to make copies of software for backup purposes only, for as long as I can remember. I think it's a basic right to allow you to keep a copy of your media safe without having to worry about the deteriation of the media it's stored on.
 
Just have someone under 18 install the game for you, as it instantly makes EULA's null and void, at least in the states.

Minors cannot enter into any contracts whatsoever and therefore an EULA does not apply to them, at all.

IANAL
 
Eh, contracts aside, the game does check to see if the CD-Keys match when joining a game, and if so will not allow the other party to join. I do believe this is done for LAN and public game servers.
 
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