got copyright?

[cat7763]

As DVD technology is replacing vhs more and more everyday, i've been pondering the fact that it will one day be obsolete. The change from tapes to cd's is why i bought a cd burner ( and btw i'm learning the hard way that only the hi quality/priced CD-Rs have over a 4 years life-spand). My point being that when you buy a cd or DVD, you pay for raw materials, manufacturing, shipping,etc...and copyright. The previous are for the material support, and the lattest is more abstract. Now we can all agree that if you buy for example a computer, you accept the fact that it's going to eventually break down, but what i find intolerable is that when you buy a movie, the material support will in time break or be obsolete, BUT if you want to enjoy the right (you've already paid for) to view it again, then it's another contribution to some actor's coke fund. Now don't get me wrong, if some musician plays his heart out, or a film crew delivers a good story, i'm one of the first to dig into my pockets so they can do it again (it's their job after all). But when i hear about them f*cking millionaire crybabies or big major label motherf*ckers trying to sue hard working people, i get real f***** pissed off. Now with Kaaza under attack and the DMCA trying to ban DVD backups, i'm wondering what we, the people who actually pay their checks, can do?
My best answer to that is my not-always-legally-recognized right to civil disobediance and copy any piece of art i wanna see and only pay for (and therefore sponsor) independant music labels and film studios products.
But if anyone has a better idea, please feel free.
Peace.
P.S.: Did you know that most copyright infringers (except for the large illegal distributors) are actually those that spend the most on these kind of products.

[den_RDC]

I must say i agree with you completely, but the situation in my country (and i am not talking about some bandit state now, i'am talking about a west-european country) is already a bit like you describe. Almost anybody uses their not-always-legally-recognized right to civil disobediance everyday, and nobody seems to care about it... Dld'ing of divx and other copyrighted materials have become fairly commonplace since broadband access (adsl and cable) have almost reached 100% coverage and prices are reasonable (i am not talking about the distant future, this is reality where i live). the reason why everybody copies DVD's is because for some unknown reason, dvd's seem to cost the double of VHS tapes (wich are not cheap btw). The same problem with the prices of audiocd's. How long wil this situation continue before somebody (at the top) realises that these tings can, as you say, be prevented fairly simply? It must be true that greed makes people think differrent :) . I think that within a few years, the situation in america wil be the same because these phenomena are closely related to the coverage/accessebility of broadband internet.

PS. my excuses for my broken english :)
PS2. Dvd's are far more expensive in europe, for example : american pie 2 on dvd costs 32.92€ here (29,29$) (for a lousy, sometimes not even widescreen PAL version) where in de USA, you get the same dvd for only 20,24$ ... wich is defenetly widescreen. Have a bit of pitty for the movie-loving europeans ;)

[cat7763]

That's the spirit man!
And getting people's attention is what i'm talking about. If enough consumers get together maybe we can make things change. But we need to do it on the legal side (btw, if any law school kids read this, here's a question: When you purchase copyrighted material, is the right to view the product limited in time? what does the law or jurisprudence say in your country?) we can't just keep breaking the law (but by doing that, we do hit'em where it hurts, don't we?).
If we get together, we can start a revolution. I've already started looking into french copyright laws, but i do need help on an international level.
Let's do this.
Peace.

PS: Den_rdc, i know about the prices of dvd's in Europe as i live in France. They're way too high in stores but you can find some decent prices on the net. Sites like www.cdiscount.com sell some good movies for under 15 Euros, and you can even find some for as low as 5 Euros (that's how much Kevin Spacey's Albino Alligator cost me).

[legman]

Okay,
This is what must be done.

First, we must break the system, like mp3 did. With divx.

DVD burners may be getting cheaper, but file sizes are still way too large and unnecessary/

cat7763,
Your mission, should you accept it is to get an email list of every university in the world that has some sort of acting/film studio's and teaching of acting. Get a contact at each one and send them an email telling them that divxnetworks will give them a free license and they can compress their movie into a free digital form and then to rar it up and release it on the share services. Make sure you tell them to add a clip to the beginning of each movie on how anyone that downloads it may view it for free, but if they would like they can get a license to own and burn for $x.xx. at producers discretion. Remember to add an amount for charity donation. You may need some help and so you are being authorized to create a fix-the-media-world strike team. If you are in need of dedicated volunteers to achieve this goal, you can have up to five people, then request to be messaged by those who can and want to help.

You can accept or deny this mission. If you are captured, you are on your own. Good luck.


den_RDC,
Your mission, should you accept it, is to put together the emails of every media/news orginazation and the contact person in the world. You may need some help and so you are being authorized to create a fix-the-media-world strike team. If you are in need of dedicated volunteers to achieve this goal, you can have up to five people, then request to be messaged by those who can and want to help

We will send them notice of major movie releases in this new form.

If you are caught, you are on your own.

Let’s have some fun and change the world a bit too. Anyone up for life again?