The Reality and Legality of Video Game Back-Up

In recent years, it has become popular to protect gaming investment by copying video games. Like movie and TV programmers, video gaming companies have acquiesced to the reality of buyer backup and allowed for the legal copy of their property under certain circumstances.  

Today, you can legally use backup software to backup video games and create video game copies for your own use. You may not sell copies of the game backups and you may not edit or hack into the video game program to change the content. Under the law, government copyright protection provides what it calls ‘fair use’ of content or published material, including video game programs. Eventually your video games will become part of the ‘public domain’ and you will be allowed to copy and use your video games as you wish. Just be sure you understand the new laws and exactly when those game backups can be freely distributed in the public domain or you could be arrested!

Understand that, while the copyright law on the books for fair use and public domain does not specifically include language to define whether your right to copying video games you have legally purchased applies to copies made in different formats or the use of the content or media in any other way. To be on the safe side, you should therefore buy and use backup software only to create an extra copy of a legally purchased video game. Even if you are tech-savvy, you should not consider using the content or media in any other way or modifying original settings or adding files that modify the original copyright material.  

In short, ‘as is’ game backup and burning video games from your own licensed copy for your own use will not get you into trouble. Breaking the code or additional use of the content or media contained in the original video game is a problem, as is the sale and distribution of game backup copies. If you do any of these things you invalidate the original license provided to you when you purchased the original video game. 

There are some new programs which allow the user to copy the content of DVDs, CDs and to copy video games, complete with encryption code onto a limited number of computer hard drives with normal launch and use settings. The public venue and permitted use for this kind of copyrighted content is still in flux. In this environment, it is wise to carefully read and follow the permitted use and instructions in the original game license and in any backup software you want to use to copy games.