Okay, this is one that hopefully someone has knowledge of. I like to use TuxGuitar, an open source (I think), free alternative to, say, Guitar Pro. It can read Guitar Pro files as well as Powertab files, but I was wondering if this is legal, since you have to actually pay for Guitar Pro. Is it legal to use a free program to read files that are created by a program you would pay for?
Question about software legality
- Thread starter R0b
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Microsoft long ago tried to sue the OpenOffice folks for reverse engineering their .doc format and supporting it in their own office suite. They didn't get away with it--the courts determined that your document is your own intellectual property, not Microsoft's. The same applies here.
In short, any program can legally support any format.
In short, any program can legally support any format.
^Since when is sin based on how many people get hurt? I laughed at the original joke (Everything's legal if you don't get caught.) but since everyone's taking it seriously now, I may as well chip in...
Yeah D:
I just had a brief discussion with a professor of mine yesterday and we agreed that the reason piracy is generally accepted in our area (and frowned upon in , let's say, Canada) is the difference of the quality of life. We're a 3rd world country that doesn't care if a record company loses profit, but Canadians have it better than we do, and they actually want to pursue decent moral values and adhere to written and unwritten rules.
There's also the idea of knowledge being accessible to everyone. Are you a follower of knowledge or profit? (our talk started on this note because I was asking how to get my hands on books otherwise unattainable)
@FABT
Sins usually hurt. Sometimes you hurt people, sometimes you're it, sometimes you just hurt God.
I just had a brief discussion with a professor of mine yesterday and we agreed that the reason piracy is generally accepted in our area (and frowned upon in , let's say, Canada) is the difference of the quality of life. We're a 3rd world country that doesn't care if a record company loses profit, but Canadians have it better than we do, and they actually want to pursue decent moral values and adhere to written and unwritten rules.
There's also the idea of knowledge being accessible to everyone. Are you a follower of knowledge or profit? (our talk started on this note because I was asking how to get my hands on books otherwise unattainable)
@FABT
Sins usually hurt. Sometimes you hurt people, sometimes you're it, sometimes you just hurt God.
Okay, here's another question for you guys. It's not about software, but still within the realm of legality, and it's not worth starting another thread for.
I like anime (Japanese animation), and you get some shows that are adaptations of 'light novels'. The problem is that most of these shows do not cover the entire story of the light novels, but only portions of them, and most light novels never see an English translation. Enter online scanlation groups, such as Baka-Tsuki, who translate the text of the novels and put them online for people to read (I believe they typically buy a copy of the novel for translation purposes, too). Now, what is the legality of this? If I read that English translation on their web site, am I stealing? After all, I am gaining access to entertainment that I didn't pay for, but on the other hand that information was not--and probably never will be--available in a form that is accessible to me, unless I manage to learn fluent Japanese. It should also be noted that Baka-Tsuki, at the very least, is willing to remove content if asked by the copyright holders, and I believe they also remove any content that does get an English license.
So, if I go to their site (or use their mobile app) and read their translations, am I stealing or otherwise committing some kind of crime?
I like anime (Japanese animation), and you get some shows that are adaptations of 'light novels'. The problem is that most of these shows do not cover the entire story of the light novels, but only portions of them, and most light novels never see an English translation. Enter online scanlation groups, such as Baka-Tsuki, who translate the text of the novels and put them online for people to read (I believe they typically buy a copy of the novel for translation purposes, too). Now, what is the legality of this? If I read that English translation on their web site, am I stealing? After all, I am gaining access to entertainment that I didn't pay for, but on the other hand that information was not--and probably never will be--available in a form that is accessible to me, unless I manage to learn fluent Japanese. It should also be noted that Baka-Tsuki, at the very least, is willing to remove content if asked by the copyright holders, and I believe they also remove any content that does get an English license.
So, if I go to their site (or use their mobile app) and read their translations, am I stealing or otherwise committing some kind of crime?
Let me ask this, though: how is that any different than someone posting a song on YouTube, which also has to be removed if the copyright holders ask? Am I then committing a crime if I listen to a song on YouTube several times, but never actually buy the song? Are the people on YouTube committing the same crime by sharing copyrighted material?
Also, in regards to the novels: say I import the novels from Japan and then use the translations available on that web site. How would something like that stand? At that point, I would actually own the material and just be using their translations to actually understand the thing I own, but if their translations are technically illegal...
Maybe I should have taken law in college.
Also, in regards to the novels: say I import the novels from Japan and then use the translations available on that web site. How would something like that stand? At that point, I would actually own the material and just be using their translations to actually understand the thing I own, but if their translations are technically illegal...
Maybe I should have taken law in college.
Yep, you're a crook. I cannot visit this forum anymore. Psalm 1 advises me to steer clear of you people.
I assume you're joking by calling me a crook, but in case you aren't, I'd like to point out that, with one exception, I have not used Baka Tsuki in quite some time because of my questions over the legality. Interestingly enough, I've gotten a couple different responses when posing this question. I posed the question about YouTube because... well, I think that explains itself. All I'm trying to do here is make sure I'm not unintentionally sinning, which I'm sure my fellow Christians can understand and appreciate. I really, REALLY want to read how Sword Art Online continues, but it's not worth it if it would be sinful to do so. Also, for anyone interested, here's a link to Baka-Tsuki's disclaimers.
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Baka-Tsuki:General_disclaimer
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Baka-Tsuki:General_disclaimer
Rawshik
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- May 15, 2010
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Songs that are on youtube not placed there or given permission by the copyright owner are entirely illegal and it's illegal for you to listen to them. Look, I'm gonna help you out here simply because I feel sorry for you. Trying to find every little thing that could be a sin and trying not to do it is not worth your time. God never told us to do that and sins are different for every person (see 1st Corinthians 10). Don't you think you should be focusing on more important things than something that has no eternal value (due to the fact that your sins are already wiped away)?
Dude, if you bought some Japanese comics and read the translations in English online you're neither committing a crime nor are you sinning.
If you read some Japanese comics online (in English) but haven't done anything to support the publishers or artists (paid for anything), you're committing a crime according to your definition of piracy in your constitution, and you're not sinning in my book, but most of you here are severely intolerant of piracy in any form so I think there'd be a disagreement.
More thought provokers: what if a nation had a law which states that piracy is an acceptable form of distributing media, regardless of the opinions of those who create it, would you feel it was okay to read a scanned book or listen to youtube/grooveshark?
If you read some Japanese comics online (in English) but haven't done anything to support the publishers or artists (paid for anything), you're committing a crime according to your definition of piracy in your constitution, and you're not sinning in my book, but most of you here are severely intolerant of piracy in any form so I think there'd be a disagreement.
More thought provokers: what if a nation had a law which states that piracy is an acceptable form of distributing media, regardless of the opinions of those who create it, would you feel it was okay to read a scanned book or listen to youtube/grooveshark?
I just know that we're supposed to obey the earthly authorities (I can't remember what book that's from, but I know it's Paul), and if the earthly authorities say x or y is wrong, and we disobey that, then aren't we sinning by disobeying a biblical command? On the other hand, if the companies know about this stuff going on (and let's face it, they probably do) and yet do nothing to prosecute or go after the people doing scanlations (given the fact that Baka Tsuki is still up and running, I'd say no one's coming after them), then doesn't that sort of negate it? I know there was an issue with manga scanlations a while back (manga is the Japanese comics for those unaware), and one site, MangaOne, basically got shut down, but there are still others, like MangaFox, up and running. The problem with manga, though, is that the scanlator groups will sometimes continue scanlating a series even if it's licensed in America, and therefore fully available to an English-speaking audience. The medium I'm talking about, light novels, is much less likely to be licensed in America (there are only a few that I can think of off-hand), and l guess that's why it's not much of an issue. My personal thought is who am I hurting? I can't read Japanese (though I'd like to be able to one day), so without the aid of the scanlations I'd never be able to read the content anyway. People probably aren't going to buy the books whether they read the scanlations or not, so it's not like the Japanese companies would be getting any money from the readers, anyway (and maybe that's the thought process of the Japanese companies). But we also know from the Bible that our ways are not God's ways, and just because something seems right to us doesn't mean it is. I don't know. I personally wouldn't mind owning the Sword Art Online novels just for the novelty of it, anyway (and that's the one series I'm really eager to read, anyway). If it wouldn't be illegal for me to buy the novels and then use the scanlations as a medium to read what I own, then great. I'll import the novels. Problem solved.
I wonder if there are programs where you could scan the pages and have them translated by the computer, though?
I wonder if there are programs where you could scan the pages and have them translated by the computer, though?
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