posted on March 13, 2001 12:43:11 PM
I think that the "time shift" argument is a valid one to a degree.
But as digi-TV starts spewing down the pipe they are going to get a little rougher on bootlegs.
I have never bought a bootleg.
One summer my sister (then the ripe old age of 14) copied all of the Bosem Buddies episodes for her personal collection. They were in syndication on a local broadcast channel.
They are her faves and in all the tapes she's made, bought and dumped (she worked at a videostore for a spell) those tapes are still in her collection nearly 15 years later.
Quality? Crapola. Supah Loooong Play VHS circa 1987.
She loves them. We have family jokes that reference Bosem Buddies! (clappy as a ham!)
So...I can see why people buy the bootlegs. They love/like shows and movies, ballgames etc.
And I think trading sites, though I have never been to one,(does this disqualify this opinion?) may be geared toward personal use ie "time shift" issues.
Where as a guy with a DVD, time base corrector (yes, the TBC will dis the DVD protection signal )and a stack of decks is a bootlegger.
I agree that the latter type of seller should be removed. And to be fair the former may have to pay the price - well the buyer really.
If I think "gee I should sell my sisters set" then that is just as bad as me dubbing a hundred of them (oooh the baaaad video!) to sell.
In the eyes of the law, (lobbiests, corporate atty's, CEOs, CFOs, artists, producers, distributors etc) it is all the same.
What about shows that aren't out on video? Or movies that haven't been released (I mean older movies, not necessarily new releases) because budgets and audience don't warrent the expense?
posted on March 13, 2001 01:07:19 PM
"They are concerned about loss of revenue, and even through they are huge and impersonal, it's revenue they are entitled to."
There's a big assumption here that the buyer wanted the origional item at a higher cost if you are to say about loss of revenue.
Where do you draw the line? I copy movies to rewatch over and over again. The companies involved are losing revenue every time, yet it's perfectly legal. They did make money the first time, again making several assumptions that I didn't buy the origional video at a garage sale, or used my neighbors copy.
Then you could continue on saying the origional item being resold, the company is entitled to a part of your revenue because the buyer could have bought it from them instead of you.
What it all comes down to is that these companies have lobby groups and high paid lawyers working for them. It's not an issue of fairness or justice. These companies aren't entitled to anything from anyone except in cases of blatant fraud or deception by professional bootleggers who try to pass the fake thing as the real deal.
An individual who sells their copy of all the episodes of Gilligans Island passes under the radar from ebay and the police because it's obvious there's nothing overt criminal about it, and quite frankly no one gives a dang, except maybe RB.
posted on March 13, 2001 01:48:32 PM
quickdraw ... No, what it really comes down to is the law, and unfortunately, in spite of our feelings and arguments about the law, we really don't have a choice. Unless, of course, we lobby to have it changed. Even the almighty Napster is struggling with this one! Fairness has nothing to do with it ... eBay proves this 1000 times a day with their heavy handed and inconsistent rulings, but you guys keep coming back to it
By the way qd, I agree with you ... on an emotional basis at least. The reason I "give a dang" about this is because everytime a bootlegger peddles his stuff openly it brings the wrath of the MPAA and their gang down upon us traders. We're very happy doing what we do and don't appreciate the heat that these idiots create for us If a bootlegger wants to make and sell a gazillion copies of Bosom Buddies, go for it. Just don't do it in a way that begs to be challenged by the law and ends up putting us all in the same boat ...
capriole ... what ABOUT the shows that aren't released? If you do not wish to take advantage of the timeshifted viewing 'loophole' and look for Bosom Buddies on the trading pages, and you want to be a law abiding citizen, then you're SOL. Heck, there's lots of stuff I would like to have access to also (and not just movies and television series!), but c'est la vie.
When I look around my video library and see stuff that has never aired on North American tv, and stuff that I remember watching as a child in 1954 when we got our first teevee set, I'm glad that I do most of my playing in the trading circles
