Copying Copyrighted Software to RAM is illegal now

[AquaFox]

http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/335563663/article.pl
http://virtuallyblind.com/2008/07/14...d-wins-sj-mdy/

I just want to highlight a sentence of it:

Blizzard won on two arguments: first, that if a game is loaded into RAM, that can be considered an unauthorized copy of the game and as such a breach of copyright

Alright it's official now, us humans are f****d up.

I can't copy copyrightted software into my RAM now.. How the hell am I supposed to run it. All you Windows users, you're doing something illegal by switching on your computer. Hahaha.

I'll just sit in a corner and dauntingly, hysterically and pessimistically laugh at the state intellectual property rights is in.

[Adeel]

Hi,

You fail to follow it through!

Section 117(a) of the Copyright law says:


Making of Additional Copy or Adaptation by Owner of Copy — Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided:


(1) that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner, or


(2) that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purposes only and that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful.
________
According to that, if WoW is copied into RAM “as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner”, then the copy is not an infringement (whether or not it is authorized).
Therefore, the Ninth circuit, and this court, are both wrong, wrong, wrong! It shouldn’t matter whether users are obeying the EULA or not, or whether they own the actual software program or only have a license to it. Copying it into RAM is “an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine”. It is not used in any other manner. Using it in another manner would be something like, printing out its contents on paper and sending them to a friend. Or publishing them in a magazine. WoW is being used in conjunction with the machine, which is exactly what Section 117 was intended to legalize.


Thus no need to throw your RAMs out!!

P.S. On a side note: More evidence that it's time to pack up and leave this planet! The world IS getting out of hand!!!



-Adeel

[AquaFox]

Adeel. Great point. The court is adjourned and they didn't see that. So for that case it was illegal.

The legal system rocks doesn't it ?

[ljuwaidah]

What if you're playing the game and decide to use the "suspend to disk" option in linux, is that illegal?

[AquaFox]

Since you said Linux you're most probably playing a copyleft game. And if you're not, playing a game REQUIRES that you copy the code into RAM. So playing it (in this court) is illegal somehow.

[ljuwaidah]

Whatif you were playing WoW on WINE?

[AquaFox]

WINE copies the game to RAM..

[Adeel]

Hi,

Well, truth be told, I dunno what to type about. The stupidity of the court case, or the dumbheadedness of the people actually filing suit on this point. That's like hotels and restaurants saying that you can eat the food but you cannot touch our plates and spoons since you are paying for the food only. And Oh! You cant bring in your own utensils!!

The copying of data on RAM prior to execution is deemed to be a "operation-critical" activity and thus is not restricted by the Copyright Act. On the other hand, the application that Blizzard sued was copying game onto the RAM NOT for execution, but for data manipulation, thus it IS restricted by the copyright act. As an example, Streaming Audio IS saved on your RAM/HD but is not breaking the law, ripped audio IS saved on your HD/RAM and it IS breaking the law. So, if that minor difference exists, then the court case holds.

I think, And this is my own personal conjecture, that we do not have the whole story here. Either there is a part of the court ruling that has been omitted to make the story spicier, or there is some additional activity going on as a follow-up to this case that no one is considering worth reporting.

If both these cases are false... *throws hands up in the air*!!!



-Adeel

[ljuwaidah]

And then when you suspend to disk it is copied from the RAM to your HD :/

[AquaFox]

Adeel. I think most of us know that. I'm just pointing out how stupid some IPR matters can be.