Buying copyright of movies!

[Sherlock Holmes]

Hi
Sorry DOOM9 , I know this subject doesn't any point to this site and forum but let me know my answer. :)

I wanna provide movies in shops. So I should buy the copyright of the movies. I need to know how can I do that. At least I should have a URL or email to requsting this. It is better that I can find some supporter in asia. Because I am living in Iran and Iran can't buy anything from US.

Thanks in advance

[auenf]

ok, when you say 'provide movie in shops', do you mean selling the retail versions, or creating your own versions of the movies to sell retail?

if its just reselling, then you will need to get in contact with the distributors of the titles you are after (preferably distributers in your region).

if you want to create your own versions of the movies to retail to the general public, then you will have to try to contact the studios that currently own the copyright to the title. be aware that 15yr old B-grade movies that get 4 stars (out of ten) on imdb will probably cost US$1k ea to license (iirc).

the other thing to check up on is copyright laws in your country, and the US, and wherever else you plan to get the movies from.

Enf...

[Sherlock Holmes]

Hi and thanks for replying
Yes I want to creat my own versions of the movies to retail to the general public. And I knew that I should contact the studios that currently own the copyright to the title.
My problem is here. How can I find those studios to make a contract ?

(For example, right now , I am looking for the studios those have the own copyright of the titles "Shrek" "chickenRun" "Monsters Inc.")

Thanks in advance

[easy2Bcheesy]

Um... you would pay tens of thousands of dollars for the rights to those movies... and why bother when the studios have already released their own versions? Why not just contact a wholesaler and buy up the existing DVDs to re-sell? The chances of you doing this are approximately zero. You might be able to buy up the rights to very old movies that have not been released on DVD, but certainly not stuff like Monsters Inc (which only came out on DVD two months ago!)

And what has all this got to do with advanced DVD authoring any way?

[Sherlock Holmes]

I should add my DVDs an audio language. Persian I mean.
That's why I have to reauthoring my DVDs.

I need to know how can I find the owner studios to contact them.

Thanks

[LB]

And it's a honest guess. But I am going to venture to say that you have no shot in doing this. It may be cool to do for yourself, but I highly doubt that they would go for that idea. There are sooooo many reasons they could/will say no to you it's really not worth discussing. But even if they did consider it, they wouldn't let the average joe handle it and let alone, for under a few million dollars probably. Just my thoughts. A better idea for you is this which *MAY* be legal and a heck of a lot cheaper.

Produce your own DVD of the movie however you want. And, to sell it, you sell a *LEGIT* (AKA: Official R1) DVD with it. That way, you are not infringing upon any rights.

SIMULATION:
Customer want's to buy your DVD with persian subtitles.

You sell him the Official DVD (at a markup) and include your DVD free.

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Because you are including *YOUR* DVD of it for free and have added *YOUR* costs to the markup of the origional DVD, I'm pretty sure that you are not violating any laws here. But you will have to be wary of which words you use in the explanation. If it comes across that you are selling him TWO copies of the movie, the official DVD and your DVD, then that is illegal. A misuse of words can mean a lot in the legal realm.

Now, you could infact be sued, and that would take a few years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawyer costs, and as we have seen from the OJ trial, you will probably not prevail. But, is what I suggested legal? Probably. Is it ethical? Yes. Would I suggest it? No. I doubt you could make a substantial income from selling persian subbed copies along with a R1 copy, but that remains to be seen.

And by the way. Did you just type it incorrectly when you said audio? Did you mean to say subtitles? I would find it slightly amusing if you would be dubbing these into a persian language yourself. Granted, you may have many skills, but I dunno. If I spoke persian I don't think I would want to listen to a movie with the score by a shopkeeper in my persian language. But, you man have a beautiful voice. I dunno. ;p

*NOTE to MODERATORS: Read the post before you delete it if you decide to. This isn't a method to sell warez or illegal copies of software. It's meant as friendly advice to provide a hopefully legal and equitable solution to his problem.

LB

[auenf]

hmm, not sure if what you suggest is legal, even the way you describe it.

a director of the company i work for is a copyright attorney, and i will try to remember to ask him next time i see him (he's on the other side of the world ;))

Enf...

[easy2Bcheesy]

Even the method above is illegal. As soon as you start mucking about with copyrighted assets, reverse-engineering products and re-selling them for personal profit, you're on very shakey ground, even if you do bundle the original product with it.

And there's still next to no chance of getting a big studio to agree to this. You're talking about liasing with movie companies, their lawyers, signing licensing agreements etc etc etc etc - just getting through the legal work will require a good deal of investment in terms of time and money.

I deal with movie companies all the time... just finding the right person to speak to can take months! If you can imagine talking to a local representative for a studio, they then have to talk to Hollywood. Now imagine all the local representatives around the world contacting the same people in Hollywood. You're lucky if you get any kind of response.

[LB]

Well give me two more years and I'll answer your question for ya. I'm studying to be a patent/copyright attorney and got 2 more years left. ;)

LB

[Sherlock Holmes]

Guys! Thanks for this conversation. But all I want is how can I contact the owner studios of movies to buying the copyright of the brodcasting of movies.
Thanks in advance
Even on CDs or VHS

[Sherlock Holmes]

No reason ? :(

[mpucoder]

Every film has credits, that's where you find the name of the copyright holder, usually a holding company. You look them up in any online directory, and mail your request to their legal department. If you can't find the copyright holder (as these companies usually exist solely for tax purposes) contact the studio (eg Paramount Pictures, or Sony Entertainment) or the distributor.
Many DVDs have the address on the package. I just looked at one distributed by MGM Home Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, California.
Good luck.