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Old 05-09-2012, 10:45 AM   #8
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Join Date: Jun 2007
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Abandonware has no legal status. Unless the IP holder has released the game as freeware or given it to public domain, it is illegal to distribute it. Even games that were published or developed by defunct companies are usually owned by someone. The assets of a company that goes under do get sold off. Just because abandonware sites have not been asked to remove a title or received a C&D by the IP holder does not mean that it is OK for the site to host it. The owner may not be aware that their IP is being distributed or do not want to waste legal resources on outdated games.

Another word of caution. Most abandonware games have been ripped, cracked or modified in ways that can lead to unpredictable problems. Many is the time that people have asked for help on VOGONS with some issue with their game that no one else is able to replicate. This is almost always because the one seeking help has an abandonware and the problem does not occur with a legitimate copy. In fact, there are some problems that immediately ID a game as abandonware, such as the buyer never arriving in Gold Rush! or KQ4 crashing when the player swims west.
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