Legal Question

**Prussian to the Iron** · 08-29-2009, 17:57

Hey everybody,

1st off: No, I have not had a run-in with the law. I simply have a question about the legality of something before I do it.

So here's what's up:

Empire Earth 1, which I bought several years ago (I think maybe 2002-2003) has unfortunately been lost, and I have been wanting to play it for a while now. So, I was wondering if, since I already bought it at full price before, it is legal in the U.S. to download it for free.

My reasoning is that I have already paid for it; why should I have to pay an extra $19.99 USD to play a game I already bought? It seems that a simple matter of not knowing where the disk is should not forbid me from playing the game. That is simply not the era we live in.

I have already found a good website and easy format to download and install it, so that is not an issue. I simply need to know if it is legal.

Thanks!

**Beskar** · 08-29-2009, 18:01

Don't tell, won't ask.

You are allowed to make back-ups for personal use, I believe. However, for legality reasons, I believe you have to have proof that you purchased it.

EULA's/etc are a different matter, however.

**Iskander 3.1** · 08-29-2009, 18:16

If you had the box, manual, etc. it might hold up in a court of law, if worse comes to worse...but aren't threads like these against .org policy?

**Prussian to the Iron** · 08-29-2009, 18:19

well I was just asking what is and isn't legal before commiting what might be a crime, and I don't think theres anything wrong with that.

But if it were up to you guys and you knew I had previously bought the game, would you let me off?

**Tratorix** · 08-29-2009, 19:09

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter. It's too bad that you lost your game, but downloading it is illegal and discussing it here is against org rules. Also, this should probably be in the Arena.