[game_preservation] support

[Simon Carless]

n8dunn wrote:

>I think in general, since the archival process could be seen as education, that even full software could be backed up, >though access to it would have to be non-copyable. For instance, set up a building which the public could visit, and have >various computer stations set up which have old games on them. Though it's public exhibition, it's education, and may >pass.

With the DMCA exemption, if you're an 'official' library or archive, this is indeed _currently_ true, as I understand it (IANAL! This is not a definitive statement!) for obsolete videogames in the U.S. However, it's only true for obsolete games, if you're breaking access protection to back stuff up.

>As for posting old games on a website, that probably wouldn't be OK unless permission was given by the copyright >holder, since people can download and distribute the software. I would say that the same would go for old code.

This is also correct. You can only post stuff that game companies are broadly happy with you posting, such as in-game movies (which they seem to be fine with for promotional/non-profit purposes) and also things governed by fair use - limited information about games to make MobyGames-style databases and suchlike. 

Hope this helps,
Simon.
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