Major abandonware sites like MyAbandonware and Abandonia are safe, serving thousands of users every day. The answer lies with the site you are downloading from. With so many sites, surely downloading abandonware is safe? There are numerous abandonware sites, all offering a very similar list of old titles for download. Those who distribute abandonware are unlikely to end up in court, so long as they comply with any cease-and-desist notices. Similarly, on titles they do care about, like the Ultima series, you no longer find those on abandonware sites (see the section below on Good Old Games for further explanation).īecause of the obstacles laid out above, abandonware appears relatively safe from a legal standpoint. But what would be the point? Legal action could turn into a public relations disaster. Electronic Arts have the legal resources to remove every free copy of System Shock on the market. Companies enforcing existing copyright tend to send a cease-and-desist letter before filing a lawsuit.Īnother reason for the lack of legal precedent may be a desire for goodwill. At least, none that I could find prosecuting someone for downloading and playing an abandonware title. But are you likely to find the authorities knocking at your door? Or, end up in front of a judge for breaking copyright? That's highly unlikely.ĭespite the illegality of abandonware, there are no court cases relating to it. To answer that specific question, no, it is not legal to download abandonware. For example, you can find classic action-adventure game, System Shock, on heaps of abandonware sites, yet the current copyright holder, Electronic Arts, does nothing about it. In other cases, the owner still exists but does not enforce the existing copyright. The majority of content on abandonware sites no longer have an owner to enforce the copyright actively, so no one can sue. Herein is why although abandonware is illegal, it straddles a delicate gray enforcement area. How, then, do sites like Abandonia stay up and running? Surely there is a constant stream of litigation landing on their digital doormat? Like most laws, punishment only occurs if you get caught-and the opposing side is willing and able to make the charge stick.
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