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General discussion (archive)Legality of sharing installers(20 posts)solved(20 posts)solved
(20 posts)solved
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This is my favourite topic
Posted May 19, 2014
I picked up Total Annihilation for my brother, brother-in-law, and myself when it was on sale a while back as we are all fans of SupCom. We are now all together for the first time since I picked up those three copies and gifted the two. I was the only one who thought to download it in advance and my bro-in-law's internet is not great. Downloading the installers off their accounts wouldn't be a huge deal, it'll probably just take a couple hours, and we will probably do that anyway regardless of what is determined on this thread, but it got me wondering. Since they each own a GOG copy of the game, is it legal for me to share my installer with them or is that against GOG's rules?

I tried a quick search of the forum and with Google, but searching with my phone is proving difficult.
This question / problem has been solved by cjrgreenimage
Posted May 19, 2014
Same as pirating if you're giving it to other people, thus illegal. Though no idea if they also own the games on their accounts.
Post edited May 19, 2014 by pimpmonkey2382
Posted May 19, 2014
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derekguenther: I picked up Total Annihilation for my brother, brother-in-law, and myself when it was on sale a while back as we are all fans of SupCom. We are now all together for the first time since I picked up those three copies and gifted the two. I was the only one who thought to download it in advance and my bro-in-law's internet is not great. Downloading the installers off their accounts wouldn't be a huge deal, it'll probably just take a couple hours, and we will probably do that anyway regardless of what is determined on this thread, but it got me wondering. Since they each own a GOG copy of the game, is it legal for me to share my installer with them or is that against GOG's rules?

I tried a quick search of the forum and with Google, but searching with my phone is proving difficult.
Sorry, maybe I'm confused:

You all own the game on GOG, but you don't want to re-download it 3 times?
If they own it on GOG, you can share your installer, it's identical.
Post edited May 19, 2014 by djdarko
Posted May 19, 2014
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derekguenther: I picked up Total Annihilation for my brother, brother-in-law, and myself when it was on sale a while back as we are all fans of SupCom. We are now all together for the first time since I picked up those three copies and gifted the two. I was the only one who thought to download it in advance and my bro-in-law's internet is not great. Downloading the installers off their accounts wouldn't be a huge deal, it'll probably just take a couple hours, and we will probably do that anyway regardless of what is determined on this thread, but it got me wondering. Since they each own a GOG copy of the game, is it legal for me to share my installer with them or is that against GOG's rules?

I tried a quick search of the forum and with Google, but searching with my phone is proving difficult.
Sounds legal to me considering your brother and brother-in-law own the licenses that make it legal for them to play the Total Annihilation GOG. I doubt the licenses are only for the GOGs downloaded from their accounts. But you should ask a blue or contact support to be 100% sure.
Post edited May 19, 2014 by monkeydelarge
Posted May 19, 2014
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derekguenther: I picked up Total Annihilation for my brother, brother-in-law, and myself when it was on sale a while back as we are all fans of SupCom. We are now all together for the first time since I picked up those three copies and gifted the two. I was the only one who thought to download it in advance and my bro-in-law's internet is not great. Downloading the installers off their accounts wouldn't be a huge deal, it'll probably just take a couple hours, and we will probably do that anyway regardless of what is determined on this thread, but it got me wondering. Since they each own a GOG copy of the game, is it legal for me to share my installer with them or is that against GOG's rules?

I tried a quick search of the forum and with Google, but searching with my phone is proving difficult.
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djdarko: Sorry, maybe I'm confused:

You all own the game on GOG, but you don't want to re-download it 3 times?
If they own it on GOG, you can share your installer, it's identical.
Yes, that is correct. For example, let's say we are going on vacation in the boondocks and bringing computers to goof off in the evening hours when it is dark. If I buy a copy for everyone and download it just once, we can save on bandwidth costs for satellite internet, for example. I would never share it with someone who did not own the game of course.

Can anyone provide a reference, like a section in the terms of service which allows or denies it that I may have missed?
Posted May 19, 2014
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djdarko: Sorry, maybe I'm confused:

You all own the game on GOG, but you don't want to re-download it 3 times?
If they own it on GOG, you can share your installer, it's identical.
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derekguenther: Yes, that is correct. For example, let's say we are going on vacation in the boondocks and bringing computers to goof off in the evening hours when it is dark. If I buy a copy for everyone and download it just once, we can save on bandwidth costs for satellite internet, for example. I would never share it with someone who did not own the game of course.

Can anyone provide a reference, like a section in the terms of service which allows or denies it that I may have missed?
Basically they have no ability to stop you or anybody else from doing that. But, I doubt very much that they mind one person downloading for multiple people so long as the number of people using the copies is less than the number of copies sold.
Posted May 19, 2014
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djdarko: Sorry, maybe I'm confused:

You all own the game on GOG, but you don't want to re-download it 3 times?
If they own it on GOG, you can share your installer, it's identical.
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derekguenther: Yes, that is correct. For example, let's say we are going on vacation in the boondocks and bringing computers to goof off in the evening hours when it is dark. If I buy a copy for everyone and download it just once, we can save on bandwidth costs for satellite internet, for example. I would never share it with someone who did not own the game of course.

Can anyone provide a reference, like a section in the terms of service which allows or denies it that I may have missed?
Common sense, you all own it from GOG, the mathematical CRC is identical on all of them. It's the same exact file, it's OK.
Post edited May 19, 2014 by djdarko
Posted May 19, 2014
I think I read somewhere that you can share with people who live you. Can anyone confirm?
Posted May 19, 2014
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cmdr_flashheart: I think I read somewhere that you can share with people who live you. Can anyone confirm?
All 3 of them own copies of the game from GOG. He wants to avoid re-downloading the file 3 times to save bandwidth.
Posted May 19, 2014
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derekguenther: Yes, that is correct. For example, let's say we are going on vacation in the boondocks and bringing computers to goof off in the evening hours when it is dark. If I buy a copy for everyone and download it just once, we can save on bandwidth costs for satellite internet, for example. I would never share it with someone who did not own the game of course.

Can anyone provide a reference, like a section in the terms of service which allows or denies it that I may have missed?
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djdarko: Common sense, you all own it from GOG, the mathematical CRC is identical on all of them. It's the same exact file, it's OK.
The fact that you chose to ask shows me you're not trying to do anything wrong.
If you have 3 licenses between you it is perfectly OK to install on your 3 machines in my opinion. ;)
Posted May 19, 2014
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cmdr_flashheart: I think I read somewhere that you can share with people who live you. Can anyone confirm?
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djdarko: All 3 of them own copies of the game from GOG. He wants to avoid re-downloading the file 3 times to save bandwidth.
Oh okay, cool, yeah I think they should be okay.

But I don't know why I think that it was okay to share GOG installers with roommates etc. I think I remember reading a forum post to that effect, but now I can't find it.
Posted May 19, 2014
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djdarko: All 3 of them own copies of the game from GOG. He wants to avoid re-downloading the file 3 times to save bandwidth.
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cmdr_flashheart: Oh okay, cool, yeah I think they should be okay.

But I don't know why I think that it was okay to share GOG installers with roommates etc. I think I remember reading a forum post to that effect, but now I can't find it.
The bit that you are probably thinking of is section 9 of the following link:
http://www.gog.com/support/website_help/downloads_and_games
Post edited May 19, 2014 by blakstar
Posted May 19, 2014
They don't mention specifics on this because it's an unlikely scenario - you paid for 3 copies, and you're actually saving them a few pennies on bandwidth.

The closest thing to this in the FAQ is here - and what is mentioned above ^:

http://www.gog.com/support/website_help/downloads_and_games

4. Can I make backups of games downloaded from GOG.com?
Yes you can, and as a matter of fact we strongly recommend you do so – backing up your stuff is a very good habit, you know? Because our games are DRM-free, as soon as you download the setup file, you can back it up on a DVD or your external hard drive without hassle. Plus, as our installers are wrapped in nice .exe files, you can save them all in one folder and create a nice local backup of your games library!
And if you forgot to backup your purchased games, fear not. You can always redownload them from our website for free – see below for more info. Sure, downloading will take a little bit longer than launching an installer from your backup disc, but that's no big deal.
Post edited May 19, 2014 by djdarko
Posted May 19, 2014
yeah its fine.
Posted May 19, 2014
They have a "household rule".

FAQ: 9. Can I install one game both on my laptop and desktop computer at home?
Yes. We do not limit the number of installations or reinstallations, as long as you install your purchased games on computers in your household. So yeah, if you've got a render-farm in the basement, you might actually break the world record for the number of legal Fallout installations in one household. However, if you think about installing your game on a friend's machine or sharing it with others then please don't do it, okay?

Depends on how far you're willing to go in considering your roommates and their computers to be your "household". I don't think it's their intent, though you could argue it's within the letter of the rule.

Anyway, as long as your friends bought GOG licenses for the games (that is, you're not stretching the truth: they're not just meaning to buy GOG licenses, they actually bought them or you actually gifted them; they're not thinking they're entitled to GOG licenses because they have a physical or Steam copy of the game), I don't think they'd have a problem with it, but the administrators are the only ones who could give an official answer.
Post edited May 19, 2014 by cjrgreen
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General discussion (archive)Legality of sharing installers(20 posts)solved(20 posts)solved
(20 posts)solved