I never noticed there was an eula when I downloaded games from GoG.
Even though I've agreed to many on GoG.
What I find weird is, the GoG EULA, states that I am only allowed one copy of the game on a computer?(in empire earth gold edition)
I find this odd, since it states on the store, that the game is DRM-free.
Is this just something to ignore? Or am I going to have to be treated unfairly by such a silly EULA.

What is the exact phrase on the EULA?

DRM-free does not mean that you can copy the game and install it wherever you like. It means you *can* physically do that, but not legally. That would be software pirating.

Being DRM-free just means that you don't have to deal with jumping through all the hoops to make sure your copy is legit.

You have the right to install the game on any of your own household computers as you'd like. But you can't give it to someone else.

So, for example, my brother and I both own Empire Earth. When we get together, we put it on 4 computers and have a big game out of it with him, me and his kids. That's an OK use.

If I want my buddy to come over and play, that's okay. But he can't take it home with him.

A rep from GOG once stated, years and years ago, that they wanted you to treat your game like a CD. If you wanted to lend it to a friend and you didn't play it, that was okay. I don't think that actually fit with their description on the website, though. Nonetheless, I don't think you'll get in any trouble for that. Trouble happens when you start sharing all over the place.


Anyhoots, I know things have changed with the EULAs and whatnot and I haven't read one in a while. Just know that the game you bought is for you and your household. That's it. Beyond that, you're infringing on someone's rights.

But also know that if you want to lend a game to friend, GOG won't go hunt you down. That's how good games are experienced. People lend them and enjoy them and then return for more. Just don't become a pirate -- because GOG has shut people out of the forums for pirating their games.

(I'm no legal expert. This is mostly taken from what I've heard from GOG staff in forums and articles - none of which I could probably find if I bothered looking)

Practical advice: Ignore the EULA, just only have your games installed on your private computers (as many as you like). Consequence: As soon as the game or someone complains, you know there is DRM present.

These EULAs may as well be from the publishers and GOG together and their purpose is mostly to prevent piracy and distribution. So if you do not distribute it or parts of it, ignore the legal gobbledygook and do what you used to do with games and most probably everything will work fine.

This is from one of the first lines in the EULA.
B. The Program is licensed to you as a single product. Its component parts may not be separated for use on more than one computer.

I myself have both a laptop and a regular computer, I have shared some with my roommate, and used multiple games for LAN, I just noticed the EULA when I was installing the game, it instantly showed me the EULA, even though I didn't click on it, or at least I think I didn't.

I don't know what a "component part" is. Are they saying that you can install part of the program on one computer and the rest of the program on another computer? Or that you can't install them on multiple computers?

I still firmly believe that many forms of software should have rights like books. Licencing media that is used in the same way as books yields weird stuff like this. But the law is the law and I suppose EULAs are some sort of contract. So just make sure you get a kid under 18 to click the next button, then it's not a legally binding contract. :-P EULAs are weird. I wonder how often they are evoked in court.

If you feel bound to the EULA, then I would say to do as your conscience tells you. But if you think it's just a safeguard that holds no real merit to user of software that is making good-faith efforts to use the program in a way that makes sense for the software at hand, then I'd say again to do what your conscience tells you.

First of all, the EULA is just a piece of (digital) paper, it can't actually do anything to screw with your installations or game playing. So unless you expect the infamous "software police" to be raiding your house sometime soon, ignore it.

Secondly, GOG very clearly states in their policies that these games are yours to do with as you please (mostly). If you own multiple computers, feel free to install your games on all of them. If you want to share with your friends for a LAN party, go right ahead*, just don't let your friend keep their copies after the party is over. The line you reference in the EULA has nothing to do with multiple installs anyway, it is supposed to prevent you from taking components out of the game, like audio/visual assets, DLL files or other executable code, to use in other products. It's really an unnecesary stipulation, since copyright law the world over already prevents that.

*it should be noted that some games do use a license key as a unique identifier in multiplayer, preventing you from temporarily sharing for LAN gaming purposes. This is not something GOG implemented, it's just the way the game was originally made.