Hypothetical question

tres

tres

tres

Soldato
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If I legally own a copy of the game & key via Steam, but can't use Steam to download the game, is it legal to use a P2P network to download it?
 
Put it this way - if there's a record of you owning the game on steam, and the date bought, it's a pretty good defence if you were ever pulled up about the download. But as above, why won't it download on steam?
 
I thought downloading in this case would be fine, however you'd have to make sure you also weren't uploading the file as that is where the trouble lies.
 
The situation is...

I have the games on Steam, but uni network has blocked all Steam - online gaming, and even just downloading for single player.
 
Addicted said:
Technically no, because games on Steam aren't owned by you.
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And they are not owned by Steam. The games makers use Steam as a platform to sell games, they keep all "Rights". The TOS is for using the steam service, the games have their own licenses which resides with the Companies concerned not Steam. Well thats my understanding of how it actually works.
 
tres said:
If I legally own a copy of the game & key via Steam, but can't use Steam to download the game, is it legal to use a P2P network to download it?
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If you use a P2P network like torrent, you are not just downloading the game. You are also distributing it. So, you can't use the argument that it's just for you, since oh noes you are helping to spread piracy.

If you find the file hosted on a site somewhere and you can download it without sharing the file (*whispers* usenet), then you aren't going to be prosecuted and morally speaking, you can take the high ground. It is just for your own use and you have a valid license and CD Key.

However, neither of these may help. When you first install the game, steam will probably try to check the online servers, and if it's blocked, you probably wont be able to activate the game. I've never tried activating a game while steam is offline, but I suspect online activation is necessary.
 
Guy i used to game with years ago had rainbow six Vegas, broke the CD so torrented a copy to use with his genuine CD KEY. Kingston Communications cut his internet and phone and sent him a letter as they had received a complaint about him downloading Rainbow Six even though he owned a copy legally and was just replacing the media.

He had to sign an agreement with Kingston that he would use the line for illegal downloading again before they would hook him back up. For those who dont know Kingston communications used to hold a monopoly on phone/broadband in Hull so he had no choice
 
edscdk said:
revise and read instead of wasting time playing games at uni?
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Just finished 3 exams. This weekend I have absolutely nothing to do but catch up on sleep, movies and games. No new topics until Monday. So, if it's alright with you, I thought I'd play something for the first time since September.

Reedy said:
VPN?
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Already connect to the uni network via VPN. Don't think I can connect to a different VPN through a VPN.
 
tres said:
Already connect to the uni network via VPN. Don't think I can connect to a different VPN through a VPN.
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You can. If that route is your default gateway for all traffic, it should just work fine..


Quite useful to have students that are in halls that actually need access to steam/xbox live etc for projects. Gets things opened up pretty quickly. Though, I sat in the bar on numerous occasions downloading from usenet..
 
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