posted on August 8, 2002 07:27:31 PM new
In an effort to emulate Yahoo, eBay has elected to start advertising bootleg videos on their auction venue.
I think just about everyone who has an interest in movies knows that there are bootleg copies of the "Star Wars Trilogy" out there on VCD and DVD. George Lucas has stated emphatically that he has not released this trilogy on any disk format in any country, and that it will be several years before he does this. He has also requested the help of the MPAA to track down the bootleg labs that are making and selling these things. Most of them seem to be coming out of Asia.
On many occasions, eBay has been notified about the proliferation of these copyright infringing items on their venue, but they have kept their heads buried in the sand and claimed "we don't know anything about this."
Even their so-called "copyright lawyer" doesn't seem to know what's legal and what isn't!
To take the cake, today, while searching for something, an eBay ad popped up on the top right hand part of the screen that advertised Star Wars on DVD. Clicking on this link led me to pages and pages of the ILLEGAL BOOTLEGS!
It's bad enough that eBay refuses to acknowledge that these items are illegal, but totally sad when they make it so easy for the bootleggers to sell them.
I wonder what's next for our weird and wonderful eBay? Are they getting that desperate for sales?
posted on August 9, 2002 12:22:26 AM new
mreifsteck
RB is right. I checked the Ebay listings and there were several listing for Starwars episodes 4/5/6 on DVD. I check out Netflix and they didn't have it. I went to Amazon and this is what I found:
The studio is currently not producing this title on DVD, but to be notified when it is available, enter your e-mail address....
I also noticed something else that was a bit suspicious when browsing a couple of Ebay listings. "The Empire Strikes Back has Return Of The Jedi art Printed on the disc and Return Of The Jedi has The Empire Strikes Back art printed on the disc making it more desirable and rare."
Sounds like bootlegs to me.
[ edited by outoftheblue on Aug 9, 2002 12:23 AM ]
posted on August 9, 2002 12:58:09 AM new
Star Wars bootlegs were on eBay before the film even hit the theatres. Same with SpiderMan the Move (and quite a few others) Here's a story from May:
I've been swamped with e-mails regarding the bootleg Star Wars Trilogy DVD's. As a public service I will take you through the steps of acquiring these on your own (without paying $80+ on eBay)...
posted on August 9, 2002 06:38:31 AM newStar Wars bootlegs were on eBay before the film even hit the theatres.
Yes, and 1000's of different eBay buyers have reported these to SafeHarbor after finding out they got ripped off. Legitimate sellers are also complaining because this hurts their reputation.
All you'll get from eBay when you make a complaint is their usual spin. Maybe they can't police their venue, and maybe some of these bootlegs will get through their system. That's one thing, but to provide an eBay created advertising link that points to pages and pages of these illegal disks just boggles my mind.
This is not the work of a single seller ... the eBay link points to all of them.
As I suggested, it certainly appears that eBay is getting desperate for money. I expect to see this kind of lousy tactic being done by Yahoo (they have been providing links to the bootlegs on their venue via their entertainment pages for a long time), but it is disappointing to see eBay dropping down to this level.
Wonder how the MPAA and George Lucas will respond to this? eBay cannot claim ignorance or even the dreaded "venue only status" as they created the link that encourages buyers to purchase illegal infringing items on their venue!
posted on August 9, 2002 07:25:12 AM new
This kind of thing really ticks me off. Ebay will shut done bootleg auctions at a drop of a hat without verifying anything if John Doe emails them. But when George Lucas says he has not produced any Star Wars movie on DVD why will Ebay do nothing about it?
Once again this proves that ebay does not even follow their own policies. It claims to will not permit bootlegs but then it provides a link to every bootleg copy of Star Wars. What gives?
Ebay only cares about making a buck.
I hope George Lucas takes Ebay to court and sues them for one billion dollars.
Perhaps as punishment Meg will be chained to Jabba the Hut for 20 years.
"An Army of One"
posted on August 9, 2002 08:11:11 AM new
mreifsteck ... no one is arguing about The Phantom Menace on DVD.
But, try to find the original Star Wars Trilogy on any legitimate retail site and you won't find it. It simply has not been released by George Lucas ... every single one that you do find on DVD or VCD are illegal copyright infringing bootlegs, and all sellers and buyers of these are subject to punishment by the law.
I would love to see eBay's knuckles rapped on this, if only to see them trying to squirm out of it with their "we're only a venue" argument.
posted on August 9, 2002 01:45:44 PM new
With some hair-splitting in mind, a distinction need be made between what is "bootleg" and what is "pirated material". Those who sell the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD are selling "pirated material" - that is, copyrighted material previously released in one format and exactly duplicated into another format or the same format as the original. And if that isn't interesting enough for you , "bootleg" are items that were never officially released for public consumption by the artist/creator, but were released
via an illegitimate route. For example, someone who videotapes a live concert and sells a copy of that videotape is "bootlegging". But if that performer taped the show himself, releases it on video, and then someone buys the video, copies it and sells it, THAT would be "pirating". There is a distinction, however slight, but worth noting. Pirating is prosecuted far more speedily and with far greater ease than bootlegging. Those who sell bootleg concerts, for example, whether on audio or video are still infringing on the artist's copyright (as they inherently own the rights to their own performance), but the laws are much more vague in this area. Last tidbit, the term "bootleg" comes from the way by which many taped concerts in the early days of microrecorders, etc, hidden down their leg in a tall boot. Happy taping! =^)
posted on August 9, 2002 03:14:27 PM new
What do you want ebay to do about it? Spend $500,000 a year policing the policy and then raising fees to pay for it? Why can't law enforcement officals buy a few of the illegal goods on ebay and make a big media circus out of the trials and prosecution of the sellers. That act would greatly deter sellers of illegal goods. That makes it law enforcement's problem more than ebay's in my eyes.
posted on August 9, 2002 04:21:50 PM newWhat do you want ebay to do about it?
This is a tired argument! Let's agree, for the moment, that eBay cannot police their venue for bad sellers, and read my original post again.
That makes it law enforcement's problem more than ebay's in my eyes.
I agree, except that in this case, eBay is the violater ... not any specific seller or group of sellers. Do you expect the fox to check the hens?
I believe eBay is abetting criminal activity by providing a direct link (created and paid for by eBay) on their page that points directly to listings of illegal items being offered by many different sellers. The facts are:
eBay must know that the Star Wars Trilogy has not been released by the Copyright Owner in any disk (VCD or DVD) format,
eBay must know, therefore, that any such disk offered for sale on their venue is illegal,
eBay makes a little dough everytime one of these pirated disks is sold on their venue using their advice (the link),
George Lucas et al loses a little money everytime one of these pirated disks is sold with eBay's blessing,
we all have to pay a little more for the legitimate stuff to cover off the owner's losses through these thefts.
posted on August 9, 2002 06:09:00 PM new
Ebay wont do nothing because the copyright holders wont do anything because they make too much money. When I was in the video business(paying $75.00 a tape!!) they did nothing to the mass bootleggers but take their equipment. In NYC the bootleggers are everywhere selling everything and the cops just ignore it. Like RB said ebay is making tons of cash off these items, and have no reason to shut the auctions down.
posted on August 9, 2002 07:29:36 PM new
If a farmer is irragating his fields and 5% of the water doesn't make it to the crops because of leaks he lets it be because the cost to fix it is too great. If half the water doesn't make it to the crops he fixes the problem or loses the crop. The same with illegal copies. The farmer is looking the other way at a small leak, it's his call.
Leave ebay out of it. It is as you say a tired argument. Give up on it or go bug the motion picture studios.
posted on August 9, 2002 09:41:51 PM new
OK ... how can I say this ... seems just about everyone who is responding has not read what I am trying to say.
Please ... read my original post again. This has NOTHING to do with eBay shutting down auctions.
posted on August 9, 2002 11:03:06 PM new
Shouldn't the entertainment industry at least try to make a minimal effort to stop ebay's advertising of bogus material? I'd blame them more than ebay. If it is out-and-out illegal copies being advertised on ebay why don't they get a lawyer on ebay's butt?
posted on August 10, 2002 11:51:07 AM new
I found the link on one of their search pages. It comes up occasionally on the top right part of the screen, right next to their advertising block. The link is in blue type and there are usually two links that randomly show up on every search page. If you keep hitting "refresh" you're bound to find it eventually.
I would have to assume that in light of all the media attention that the Star Wars Trilogy rips (bootlegs or pirated disks - whatever you want to call them) are getting, including magazine articles, internet sites, the MPAA hot line pages, radio and teevee reports, coupled with the fact that George Lucas himself has stated emphatically that he has not released this trilogy on disk and that it will be at least a few more years before he does so, that the so-call eBay "copyright expert" would also know this.
The only way this "expert" would not know this is if he has head buried deep in the sand (in which case he should be ashamed to call himself a copyright expert), or he has been instructed by Meg to ignore the problem - these sales do bring in lots of bucks to help support Meg's lifestyle.
I just found the link again. As of about 1 minute ago, this link provided a direct connection to (94) DVD listings and (66) VCD listings for this illegal Trilogy, all listed on eBay!
posted on August 10, 2002 01:08:31 PM new
July 7, 2002
The DVD is COMING
The Original Trilogy is not FINISHED! Episodes IV, V, and VI will be coming out on DVD after George is DONE with them--Most Star Wars fans have discovered that George has already filmed a few new scenes for Episode IV while he filmed Episode I, and that he has done a few extra shots during Episode II that were for episodes V and VI. The original trilogy will NOT be put onto DVD until Episode III is finished, because the new scenes will not be done until then. In addition, George wanted to release all 6 films at once.
(following from a Star Wars Fan Site)
I've been swamped with e-mails regarding the bootleg Star Wars Trilogy DVD's. As a public service I will take you through the steps of acquiring these on your own (without paying $80+ on eBay)...
First off, the quality is great. They have removable subtitles and contain a few extras (interviews, original trailers, etc.) as well as being widescreen. The picture is better on the special editions than the original trilogy...but c'mon these ARE bootlegs after all. They still look better than VHS.
The best place (in my opinion) to buy them is: xxxxxx Be warned...these come from Malaysia and take a looooooong time to arrive. (sometime it can take as long as 40 days) Their price is only $29.99 for all three movies. These are not VCD transfers...these are laserdisc transfers, so the image and sound are BETTER than VHS.
xxxxxxxx tends to alternate between four known web addresses. If the link above doesn't work...just give it a few days and they'll be back.
Unfortunately, the DVD's only come in regular CD cases with terrible artwork. The best way to get professional looking DVD inserts is by going to: DVD Cover Art Download the covers you want, go to Kinko's and have them print the images (which are already pre-sized to the correct dimensions). The best paper they offer is double sided gloss.
Finally go to Inetdvd.com to buy empty DVD cases. Amaray Keep Cases are the best quality DVD cases and are only $.59 each
posted on August 14, 2002 11:33:35 PM new
I spoke with a friend of mine at work about the Fellowship of the Ring DVD. He says he got a bootleg copy from somewhere out of Asia weeks before it was released.
Get this: $10 bucks, delivered, good quality, except that every 20 minutes a disclaimer scrolls along the bottom of the screen. Screener's copy or something? He did say that a friend purchased several boots (different films) that were poor quality.
I read an article in today's paper about the legit new two-DVD release of Fellowship of the Ring. Apparently, it contains advertising for the "special edition" release of THE SAME MOVIE on four DVDs coming soon. The two hours of "special features" are mostly advertisements.
You go to the video store, plunk down $30 bucks (or whatever it costs) for FOTR, and it contains advertisments for the SAME DAMN THING with extra footage. How slimy is that? Like they expect everyone to buy two copies!! I've got no sympathy for New Line Cinema.
posted on August 15, 2002 06:04:18 AM new
Hey twin ...
I guess if you can live with a piece of software that has the save feature disabled and prints "Unregistered Copy" on every piece of paper that prints from it, then you'd be OK with this LOTR bootleg..
Also, fyi, and assuming you're OK with missing scenes, lower screen resolution, and no 5.1 digitial surround sound on your friend's copy:
- The extra features on the first release of LOTR are considerably more than "just advertising",
- The next release will include an extra 30 minutes that was edited from the theatrical release,
- I paid $23.00 Canadian (around $16.00 US) for my official 2-disk set,
- I got a coupon book in my official 2-disk set that includes around $300.00 in special offers plus an $8.00 Off coupon for the next release.
posted on August 15, 2002 08:35:28 AM new
I bought a legit sealed copy of the Lord of the Rings at a swap meet for $15 with no tax.
The seller had a stack of them.
posted on August 15, 2002 08:53:39 AM new
I doubt I'll buy FOTR for a good while. Maybe when a used one shows up on eBay! My friend, though, is a major Tolkein-head, and he wanted the first copy he could get.
posted on August 16, 2002 11:20:52 AM new
in regards to the star wars link on ebay. I just saw it for the first time. It is NOT a link to all of the bootleg copies on ebay. It is a link to a search result for STAR WARS. They don't day anything about the episondes 4, 5, and 6 in the search, only looking at 'star wars' within the dvd section. This means that ebay is not doing anything wrong!!!
Ebay rarely polices its own auctions. If you have a problem with the auctions for the DVDs, then report them to ebay's safe harbor. You will go anonymous and the auction will be ended with a warning to the seller. If you don't care enough to do this, then you don't care. Period.
posted on August 16, 2002 03:12:15 PM newThey don't day anything about the episondes 4, 5, and 6 in the search, only looking at 'star wars' within the dvd section.
Last time I checked, there was (99) DVDs and (66) VCDs for the Star Wars Trilogy (call it whatever you want) listed on the results that this link points too ... each and every one of them is illegal!
This means that ebay is not doing anything wrong!!!
Right ....
If you have a problem with the auctions for the DVDs, then report them to ebay's safe harbor.
Right ...
If you don't care enough to do this, then you don't care. Period.
You must be one of those varmits who peddle this junk on eBay.
, "bootleg" are items that were never officially released for public consumption by the artist/creator, but were released
