Internet Cafe and Game License Advice

[rastorize]

A few of us were thinking of opening an Internet Cafe...about 30 PCs...mostly for LAN gaming. We own the PCs and hardware.

So my question is about the PC games and how they are licensed.

Let's say I buy (for example)
30 copies of Quake 3,
30 copies of HL/Counter Strike,
30 copies of RTCW, etc...

I then install 1 of each game on each PC...30 PC's...3 games on each PC legally purchased. There would also be a server hosting the games.

I then open the doors of my Internet Cafe...30 folks sit at the PCs and start playing whatever game they choose that I have installed.

Is it legal for me (in the US) to charge a fee to use these PCs and the software that is on them on? In a sense, I am renting time on my hardware...but are there legal issues associated with the software that they would be using on my hardware?

Are there legal issues associated with the End User Agreements of video games that does not allow this?

Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas or advice?

Thank you all in advance!

[Rand Dusing]

Hmm, I've been thinking about this also. I think you might want to read the License Agreements that nobody ever reads. Or if you can find a tech support number for the game maker you can ask them about it. I'm sure most game makers follow the same rules on it.

I think with most games as long as you own a copy of a game you can host it and play it at the same time.

[rastorize]

We've called a few companies (Blizzard is one) and they've suggested purchasing site licenses upwards of $10,000 or more depending on the game title. But to me, I would think that we would only need 30 copies for the 30 computers (1 for each PC)...we don't need a copy of the game for each individual that walks through the door?

Perhaps the companies would like us to think that each person needs to have a licensed and registered copy of the game to be legal...licensed to the indivual not the PC it is running on. We want to use one legal copy on one computer and share the hardware (for a fee) among several people...does this sound right?

Are licenses for each person...or for each computer? Any ideas?

[Blazer06]

O.... i should know this... I wrote a business plan for a cyber cafe, and i believe that you just need one copy of the game. (for each computer)... the charge isnt for them playing the game, but for them using the computer at all...

it might be a problem if you try to charge them 30.hour to paly half life and 20.hour to play ... etc.
like making them pay a premium for playing the game.

i would cunsult the lisecning agreements.


Blaze

[Xtreeme]

Blazer06-that sounds dead right to me.

[HeadBand]

to me it dosent seem any different that a lan party that charges a fee

[rastorize]

Thank you all for your replies!

I just read the license agreement for Quake 3 (Activision) which states that I shall not do the following acts:

1. rent the software
2. sell the software
3. lease or lend the software
4. offer the software on a pay-per-play basis
5. distribute the software by any means
6. exploit the software or use it for any commercial purpose
7. reverse engineer, etc
8. translate the software
9. reproduce or copy the software
10. publicly display the software
11. prepare or develop other works based on the software

Do you think #6 above would be an issue? And what does #10 mean?

BLAZER06 sounds right...since I would be renting the time on the hardware and not the software...it should be legal.

A person would sit down at the PC and play any game on that PC...there wouldn't be a charge for any specific game, just the time they spend on the PC.

A CyberCafe is different from a LAN party right? Isn't a LAN party where you bring your own PC as opposed to a CyberCafe where we supply the PC? Does that sound right?

Anyone else have an opinion based on Activision's License Agreement above?

[Blazer06]

if your still questionable tomorrow i can call a few places up, and check for you.

its for example letting them use windows.dont look at it as a game, but as a program


Blaze

[Vagabond]

Number 6 does sound like it could be an issue but i like the way Blaze put it so if you had legal copies on all puters and someone walks and you charge per computer time not game
you are not making money buy renting the game or software you are making money (technically) off of the hardware and internet connection....

you may want to check with a law person though

[Vagabond]

BTW
how did you guys come up with location and possible target demographics??