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Is it illegal to use VX if...

author=Karsuman
alterego, tardis, don't do that.

McBick: This is basic reading comprehension stuff here.

What J. stipulates is that you will be prosecuted ACCORDING TO THE LAWS of Japan, not that you are FREE TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT outside of Japan. This means they retain the legal right to request of a country your deportation so that they can sue you in Tokyo, Japan, and leaves open a number of other legal channels with which to get you if they so please. Pick a flavor.

Now I'm not saying Enterbrain will do this (flying you over will cost far more than they lost on the product), so you are probably safe downloading some shoddy ten-year old program off the internets. But nowhere does it say that 'this is null and void outside of Japan'. And the document you linked clearly states how wrong you are.

Please do not go around trying to spread this ignorant nonsense to other people. It sends a bad precedent and makes people actually believe they are legally safe when they are not.
I had no intention of telling people that their safe downloading any rpg maker products. Please don't misconstrue my point. I simply want to know whether VX is really illegal to acquire without buying outside of Japan.

Edit: Sorry double post, I thought I was editing my previous post.

Is it illegal to use VX if...

author=tardis
you make really good topics McBick

Thanks.

Is it illegal to use VX if...

author=Julev
You should re-read the document which you have linked. Specifically this part:

Bilateral copyright relations between Japan and the United States, which were formulated effective May 10, 1906, are considered to have been abrogated and superseded by the adherence of Japan to the UCC Geneva, effective Apr. 28, 1956.

Furthermore, you should look into Title 17 of the United States Code and the WIPO Copyright Treaty of 1996.
I looked those up and did some more research.
If the country in which protection is sought is a party to one of the international copyright conventions, the work generally may be protected by complying with the conditions of that convention. Even if the work cannot be brought under an international convention, protection under the specific provisions of the country's national laws may still be possible. There are, however, some countries that offer little or no copyright protection to any foreign works. For current information on the requirements and protection provided by other countries, it may be advisable to consult an expert familiar with foreign copyright laws. The U. S. Copyright Office is not permitted to recommend agents or attorneys or to give legal advice on foreign laws.

Unless you consult with an expert with foreign copyright laws there is no definitive way of determining whether a copyright is valid where you live. There is a lot more in determining the legalities of intellectual properties.

Also I still stand by what I said earlier that it's not illegal outside of Japan because the license states that only Japan's laws are enforced. If your going to argue that this means you will be tried in the courts of Japan then please look up, "choice of law principles".

Edit: I put the wrong phrase in bold.

Is it illegal to use VX if...

Also I am not saying that a Japanese Company's copyrights have no jurisdiction outside of Japan. Only the copyrights they have in Japan are void outside of the country. They can still get copyrights for their products in other countries. I haven't been able to find any from Enterbrain though.

Total Moron's Guide to IRC (using Mibbit)

Does anyone actually use this site's irc channel?

Is it illegal to use VX if...

Here you go. Also Japan use to have copyright relations to the US, but they no longer have any.
Link:
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ38a.pdf

Is it illegal to use VX if...

author=Versalia
J. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This Agreement will be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of Japan without regard to choice of law principles. Any and all dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall solely be resolved by and at Tokyo District court, Tokyo, Japan.
What that means is that you are still legally obligated to follow the license agreement as Japan dictates. It's not that it's not illegal in America. It's that Japan gets to decide what is a violation.

If Enterbrain somehow drags your ass to court (lol) I hope you have an extensive knowledge of japanese copyright law.

Though I am curious about the sourcing of Japan having no copyright jurisdiction in the US.

Like I said before they have no jurisdiction outside of it's country. They can't take you to court unless your in Japan, but even if you were they would need evidence. Unless you brought the the evidence with you, it would be impossible to take you to trial.

Is it illegal to use VX if...

I wasn't claiming it. There is really no real source because they have nothing that states they have copyright/intellectual property jurisdiction outside of their country. If you must have a source I can find you an article explaining their law's jurisdiction in other countries.

Is it illegal to use VX if...

I looked that up too and Japan has no jurisdiction here, at least not when pertaining to copyrights.

Is it illegal to use VX if...

author=Karsuman
If it sounds like it's illegal, it probably is. The internet has really fostered a pitiful sense of intellectual property rights among the people who use it. Some folks still don't understand that the 'freely available' rm2k/rm2k3 development package they use is commercial intellectual property of Enterbrain, and as such, illegal for them to use without paying for it.

It's an individual's choice regarding whether to do 'x illegal thing' or not, and we don't knowingly allow illegal products to be linked here (please don't), but it's probably a good thing to ask these kinds of questions because it does in fact help inform others. Your topic is fine.

(please don't minimod NewBlack, thanks)

I read the license and it's only enforced by the laws of Japan. Which means it's only illegal in Japan.
THIS END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (THE “AGREEMENT”) IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU, THE END-USER (THE “LICENSEE”) AND ENTERBIRAN,INC.(“ENTERBRAIN” OR “LICENSOR”) BY INSTALLING OR USING “RPG MAKER VX” (THE “SOFTWARE”), YOU, THE LICENSEE, ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING OR USING THE SOFTWARE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS, CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PROMPTLY DELETE THE SOFTWARE FROM YOUR COMPUTER.

A. Ownership. ENTERBRAIN retains all title, copyright and other proprietary rights in, and ownership of, the Software. Licensee does not acquire any rights, other than those expressly granted in this Agreement.

B. License
ENTERBRAIN grants to Licensee a non-exclusive, non-assignable license to use the Software on only one (1) computer by installing the Software, and Licensee cannot use the Software concurrently by and on multiple computers.

C. Restriction
Licensee shall not reverse engineer, de-compile, or disassemble the Software.
Further, Licensee shall not sell, assign, lease, sublicense, encumber, or otherwise transfer the Software without the written consent of ENTERBRAIN.

D. User registration
Licensee shall promptly sign up and register required information as a user of the Software. Licensor will provide support, via on-line basis and only the scope designated by Licensor, to the Licensee who completed the registration process in accordance with Licensor's direction. Such support shall be provided on “as-is” basis without any warranty in any manner.

E. Distribution rights
Licensee may, at its sole discretion and its own risk, distribute the game (“Game”) originally created by Licensee by utilizing the Software with the following conditions;
(i) Only Licensee who properly completed the user registration may distribute its own Game;
(ii) The Game that may be distributed by Licensee shall be legally created and shall not infringe third party's rights, including, but not limited to, privacy, copyright, trademark, and/or any other intellectual property rights. Licensee shall, at its own expense, indemnify, defend and hold ENTERBRAIN harmless against any claim/suit/proceeding brought against ENTERBRAIN arising out of or in connection with the Game on the issue of infringement of any patent, copyright and/or any other intellectual properties of any third party; and
(iii) Licensee shall be fully responsible for the Game, its contents, including, but not limited to, character, story, scenario, plot, map, music, sound, design, name, the Game's distribution method, and/or any other items created or added by Licensee.

F. Termination
This Agreement and the license granted hereunder automatically terminates if Licensee breaches any provision of this Agreement. Immediately upon termination of this Agreement, Licensee shall cease using the Software, shall delete the Software and Game from its computers and shall either return to ENTERBRAIN or destroy the Software. If Licensee elects to destroy the Software, then Licensee shall certify in writing to ENTERBRAIN the destruction of the Software.

G. Limited Warranties and Disclaimers.
ENTERBRAIN does not warrant that the Software will meet Licensee's requirements, that the Software will operate in combinations other than as specified in the Documentation, that the operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or error-free or that Software errors will be corrected.
ENTERBRAIN HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES IN ANY MANNER, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

H. Liability Limitation
IN NO EVENT SHALL ENTERBRAIN BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR USE, INCURRED BY LICENSEE OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ENTERBRAIN'S LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES AND EXPENSES HEREUNDER OR RELATING HERETO (WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT) WILL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF LICENSE FEES PAID TO ENTERBRAIN WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT.

I. Entire Agreement.
This Agreement constitutes the complete agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or representations, written or oral, concerning the subject matter of this Agreement.

J. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This Agreement will be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of Japan without regard to choice of law principles. Any and all dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall solely be resolved by and at Tokyo District court, Tokyo, Japan.

I don't know why so many people think it's illegal. Am I missing something?