I don't pirate anything. I never pirate off of limewire.


So how do I make illegal copies of software that I'm not pirating?

Game card is included. I don't remember seeing it sold w/o game card.

Um, then why is it even sold in stores for whatever amount it goes for?

But it's sold for quite a bit more than the worth of the gamecard.

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Isn’t it legal to copy video and computer games as a backup as long as you own a legitimate copy?

U.S. Copyright laws permit making a "backup" copy of computer programs for archival purposes. However, the right to make backup copies of computer programs for archival purposes, as embodied in 17 U.S.C. Section 117(2), does not in any way authorize the owner of a copy of a video or computer game to post or download a copy of that game to or from the Internet or make such copy available to other people for their use. Section 117(2) only gives the owner of the copy a right to make an archival copy of the actual copy that he/she legally possesses, not to make a copy of the ROM that someone else legally possesses, nor to post an archival copy of his/her original copy for distribution. The law clearly does NOT provide any right to sell "backup" copies. In fact, Section 117 is quite explicit in stating that any archival copy prepared under Section 117(2) can only be transferred to another person if, and only if: A) The original copy is also transferred, and only with the authorization of the copyright owner, and B) The transfer is part of the sale of all rights in the program.

Isn't it OK to copy games that are no longer distributed in the stores or commercially exploited?

No, the current availability of a game in stores is irrelevant to its copyright status. Copyrights do not enter the public domain just because the works or products they protect are no longer commercially exploited or widely available. Therefore, the copyrights of games are valid even if the games are not found on store shelves, and copying or distributing those games is a copyright infringement.

Haven't the copyrights for old games (like Atari & Commodore) expired?

U.S. copyright laws state that copyrights owned by corporations are valid for 95 years from the date of first publication. Because video and computer games have been around a little more than three decades, the copyrights of all video and computer programs will not expire for many decades to come.

On a side note, everything that I own is illegal.

Technically... that sentance is even incorrect... you dont own it if you stole it.