Question: Is abandonware illegal?
Answer: Is abandonware illegal?
There are many sides and legal issues to the this story. Some say yes it is illegal because you are not paying the copyright holder for what he/she created. Others say that it is legal because the copyright holder has chosen a non enforcement route in regards to the distribution of it’s old software. Selling abandonware for profit is definitely illegal without the permission of the copyright holder.
Many companies are finding that old titles are once again becoming profitable. Companies such as Atari are active in protecting it’s older arcade titles from illegal distribution and many companies are re releasing older titles in toy joystick or game packs that plug into a regular TV.
Much of the abandonware that you can find online is free to download from the host sites, but the copyright holder isn’t always aware of this free distribution. Many abandonware sites such as Home of the Underdogs, post a disclaimer stating any copyright holder requesting a game removed, will have that request granted.
