Games, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectives

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dc.contributor.advisorHaupt, Adamen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMalczyk, Annaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-25T17:06:42Z
dc.date.available2015-10-25T17:06:42Z
dc.date.issued2010en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 111-126).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines video games, copyright law and gamers' attitudes to copyright infringement, with particular reference to South Africa. The work provides an overview of the debates about copyright law and digital media, and offers an analysis of attitudes expressed by South African gamers about copyright infringement, popularly termed 'piracy'. The thesis reveals that, while about 70% of the gamers in this study share content illegally, they express complex and varying motivations for doing so, and have various and conflicting means of understanding the supposed illegality of the act. Some of the issues raised by participants in this study relate to contested perspectives on Digital Rights Management (DRM). In this work, I argue that DRM erodes civil liberties and does not necessarily extend the interests of gaming corporations. In this regard, the thesis explores alternative strategies to the restrictive approaches adopted by advocates of DRM as well as prohibitive copyright laws and multilateral agreements on intellectual property. In essence, this work intends to establish middle ground between gamers, who place a high premium on usability and affordability of gaming products, and the gaming corporations, who are interested in extending market share as well as protecting what they deem to be their intellectual property.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMalczyk, A. (2010). <i>Games, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectives</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Film and Media Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14315en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMalczyk, Anna. <i>"Games, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectives."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Film and Media Studies, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14315en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMalczyk, A. 2010. Games, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectives. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Malczyk, Anna AB - This thesis examines video games, copyright law and gamers' attitudes to copyright infringement, with particular reference to South Africa. The work provides an overview of the debates about copyright law and digital media, and offers an analysis of attitudes expressed by South African gamers about copyright infringement, popularly termed 'piracy'. The thesis reveals that, while about 70% of the gamers in this study share content illegally, they express complex and varying motivations for doing so, and have various and conflicting means of understanding the supposed illegality of the act. Some of the issues raised by participants in this study relate to contested perspectives on Digital Rights Management (DRM). In this work, I argue that DRM erodes civil liberties and does not necessarily extend the interests of gaming corporations. In this regard, the thesis explores alternative strategies to the restrictive approaches adopted by advocates of DRM as well as prohibitive copyright laws and multilateral agreements on intellectual property. In essence, this work intends to establish middle ground between gamers, who place a high premium on usability and affordability of gaming products, and the gaming corporations, who are interested in extending market share as well as protecting what they deem to be their intellectual property. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Games, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectives TI - Games, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectives UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14315 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14315
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMalczyk A. Games, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectives. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Film and Media Studies, 2010 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14315en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentCentre for Film and Media Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherIntellectual Property Rightsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherCopyright Infringement - Attitudesen_ZA
dc.titleGames, copyright, piracy : South African gamers' perspectivesen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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