Sounds a lot like Tichu, a team-based 4 player trick taking game where you play quadi-Poker hands and try not to be the last out with cards in hand. Our group has a lot of fun with that, although Tichu seems simplified in a few areas. You have 14 cards each instead of 27, there is only a single wild card, you count points instead of levels, and bombs are more rare.
This might be an interesting upgrade.
It was definitely considered piracy by the public at the time. Everyone I knew called it a “legal grey area”, but as far as I know it was legally permissable.
The media companies tried their hardest to make it sound like you were destroying the entire industry and you’d go to jail for life as soon as they caught you.
What makes me mad is the boomers I watched copy rentals and NFL games are the same ones telling me I’m stealing by using an ad blocker.