Copying CDs

[bradthegreat]

So I buy a Commandos game and like it a lot. I now want to go multiplayer with my little bro cause I have 2 computers. Is it illegal for me to make a copy of the CD for my own use so I can play together? Would it not be like copying a music CD so I can listen to it in my car and my room? The Nero software that came with my DVD burner doesn't want to let me do that, so should I forget it.

Along the same lines, are drive emulators illegal as well? Like, if I can make ISOs of all my CDs and then just mount them into drives so I don't have to keep getting out all my CDs, is that fine? I don't want to be illegal or anything, I just want to know what the deal is with that.

 

[Spike]

It is not illegal to copy a game for backup purposes in the US, but it would be illegal to copy it for purposes of playing it in multiplayer mode.

 

[bradthegreat]

is it illegal to store ISOs on your HDD? I wouldn't think so if they are for backups.

 

[Spike]

No, You can store the ISO as a backup. That's legal, though you'd have a hard time proving it was a backup. If you simply copied the CD once, that would be a backup, and you'd stand a chance of proving it too.

If however, you used a "backup" for the explicit purpose of playing multiplayer, in a game that that required a copy of the cd for each player, THAT would be illegal.