[the_sanguine]

Selling copy DVDs:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KORDA-UNDERWAT...QQcmdZViewItem

Sticking his neck out a bit be thinks.....

[samjet]

are you a carper looking at korda dvd's??

i'll let danny and the boys at korda know by email

they had this sort of problem with the earlier films

thanks for pointing it out

PS email sent to korda - should disappear very soon from ebay

[the_sanguine]

I don't think that sort of things on. Taking a copy for your mate, I can tolerate (not that it's right) but openly selling them......

Ask the boys at Korda if I get a discount for pointing it out...

[samjet]

whats worse is he's obviously a carper since i had a look at his feedback and he's dealt with mo's pva etc

in fact some of the earlier dvds were copied and sold in tackle shops

[Geordie Jester]

we recently got a dvd (quiz) from Ebay and the guy was really angry that we had given him neg feedback as he sent us an illegal copy. he complained that he did say dvd-r on the ad.

sure enough when we rechecked there was a dvd-r in the small print. Seems like they feel that if they state its an illegal copy, it means its ok to rip hundreds of copies selling them all.

Its just theft. and such a lazy business, profiting like this

[the_sanguine]

What are the penalties? Does the fact that you are doing it commercially make any difference?

[PoochJD]

Sanguine,

If you are someone who pirates material, and is then selling it to the public, the penalties can range from fines of about £5000 (upwards) to prison sentences of upto 5 years!

The answer is, don't get involved in piracy! It just ain't worth the hassle!


Pooch

[the_sanguine]

I was interested to know whether the offence is seen differently whether you've copied a DVD for your mate or openly selling them on Ebay

[shahedz]

i did once see a dvd of all the pink floyd albums on one DVD-r. the seller then wrote "please do not buy this unless you own original copies of the albums-this is for back up purposes only" - so sellers seem to be doing it and ebay turn a blind eye, a seller was selling fake adidas trainers so a complaint was made to ebay who did nothing at all about it.

[PoochJD]

Hi Sanguine,

Either way, copying any DVD that you do not own the copyright authority in, is illegal! However, the penalty depends very much on what is being done with the copied product.

If the copies are being sold on e-Bay, car boot stalls, the local pub, then you'll be treated like a genuine criminal pirate. If by some chance you were caught by the police or Trading Standards, copying "The Lord Of The Rings - Part 1" for your next door neighbour, who was only going to watch the copy once, before destroying it, you'd probably get a small fine and/or a slap on the wrist.

Copyright violations are taken extremely seriously now, as I'm sure you will know. There have been several legal cases in the US, the Far East, and the UK, where pirates have been put in prison, or given substantial fines of several thousand, because of their activities!

Hope that answers your question a bit better. Oh, and I've reported the e-Bay moron, mentioned in the first post of this thread, so I hope the sale gets removed, and the e-Bayer concerned, gets a ban of some kind!


Pooch

[Miniholic]

ITS A JOKE FOR SHOP PRICES AT £19.99 EACH WHEN I CAN SUPPLY TO YOU FOR JUST £40 FOR PART 1,2,3,4,AND YES THE LATEST 5

So the shops selling orignals at £20 a go is a rip off, but £40 for a few dodgy DVD-R's isn't?

[the_sanguine]

Thanks Pooch.

I guess somebody else will put an advert saying "don't get ripped of for £40 when I can supply a set for £30..."

[overkill]

Originally Posted by the_sanguine

I was interested to know whether the offence is seen differently whether you've copied a DVD for your mate or openly selling them on Ebay

It isn't an offence to create one backup copy. It is illegal to sell even that one. It is also, as far as I'm aware, illegal to pass on that copy even to a mate.

Originally Posted by poochjd

Either way, copying any DVD that you do not own the copyright authority in, is illegal! However, the penalty depends very much on what is being done with the copied product.

It isn't. According to TS you are within your legal rights to make one copy, for personal use only. Any attempt to make further copies, or to sell it, are strictly illegal.

TS & the Police aren't after people making copies for their own private use, but the guys like this on Ebay. It annoys me no end that Ebay does nothing about it, and even if you warn them it takes 8 days (minimum) to remove an account that is selling fradulent items or illegal copies.

[t-force]

Isn't doing anything to circumvent copy protection - like copying DVDs, removing macrovision etc - banned under the digital millenium copyright act? That's what Sony used for banning the sale of mod-chips.

[Mr_Wistles]

Originally Posted by t-force

Isn't doing anything to circumvent copy protection - like copying DVDs, removing macrovision etc - banned under the digital millenium copyright act? That's what Sony used for banning the sale of mod-chips.

Yep, thats the law.

You are allowed to have a copy for personal use but if it means breaking copy protection to get it you are strictly breaking the law. I doubt anyone has ever, or will ever get in trouble for it but thats how it goes.

[samjet]

pooch jd

i note you have reported the matter to ebay - maybe as a result of your action the item has been removed

however the seller has another listing for the item - perhaps you could let this one 'run' as i know the owners of the copyright would lke to actually catch him in the act of selling - i've emailed them with details of this other auction

what particularly pisses me off is that the dvd is made by a small specialist fishing tackle company not some huge multinational

furthermore the lowlife scum selling the copies is a fellow specialist angler - got forbid somebody i might know from the fishing forums!!

i don't blame ebay - they can't read every advert and they seem to respond when they get complaints

why don't FACT spend some time checking ebay - there are 1000's of openly offered forgeries or are they only really interested in the 'big boys'?

[mh123]

They're only interested in the big boys.

I tried reporting a couple of these cowboys a while back. Here's the reponse I got from the BPI :

[FONT=Arial]The problem we have with eBay is that there are just so many of these sellers. Our anti-piracy team do work with eBay to get illegal auctions taken down, though - and always appreciate the tip-offs, you can reach them on antipiracy@bpi.co.uk[/FONT]

Needless to say when I forwarded on the complaints, nothing happened.

FACT didn't even respond.

[Miyazaki]

Originally Posted by samjet

i don't blame ebay - they can't read every advert and they seem to respond when they get complaints.

IMHO ebay are complicit. They are giving these people the platform to sell illegal goods. If they can't monitor or read every advert, they simply shouldn't be in the business.

[stealther]

Originally Posted by Games Guru

IMHO ebay are complicit. They are giving these people the platform to sell illegal goods. If they can't monitor or read every advert, they simply shouldn't be in the business.

Have to agree with games here. Retailers are held responsible for what they sell and ebay should be much more accountable than they are. When you think the amount of money they must make

[Miyazaki]

Exactly. The RIAA and the MPAA are trying to hold websites that list .torrent files accountable for breach of copyright, and have had several websites closed down.

How is this any different? The fact that ebay lists tangible goods should make the point more pertinant.

[Nick_UK]

Originally Posted by overkill

It isn't an offence to create one backup copy. It is illegal to sell even that one. It is also, as far as I'm aware, illegal to pass on that copy even to a mate.

Whilst this is true for the US, the UK laws on copyright are different to just about everywhere else. In the UK, it's illegal to make a backup copy. Although you own the rights in perpetuity to software or music material elsewhere in the world, in the UK when the media carrying the software has worn out, that's it.

How hard they throw the book depends on the level of deception. Since this guy has said that these are obvious copies, then he would get punished a lot lighter than someone who tried to pass off copies as the real thing. Selling copies is classed as counterfeiting, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 7 years. The owner of the copyright could bring legal procedings for loss of revenue.

[samjet]

i've just had an email from korda developments - their on the case

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Nick_UK

Whilst this is true for the US, the UK laws on copyright are different to just about everywhere else. In the UK, it's illegal to make a backup copy. Although you own the rights in perpetuity to software or music material elsewhere in the world, in the UK when the media carrying the software has worn out, that's it.

How hard they throw the book depends on the level of deception. Since this guy has said that these are obvious copies, then he would get punished a lot lighter than someone who tried to pass off copies as the real thing. Selling copies is classed as counterfeiting, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 7 years. The owner of the copyright could bring legal procedings for loss of revenue.

Nope. The laws are exactly the same. The devil as it were, lies in the detail. While the 88' act says all 'copying is prohibited' it does not however, specify any sanctions - as in the US. Whereas section 107 clearly states that selling, hiring, or public useage is punishable by prison sentences and fines. However, and here comes a problem again, education establishments are exempt from the latter - although it doesn't state that under that act, but the education act of the same year.

Hence, as usual, the law is up it's own backside, and it's passed back to the software companies themselves to lay down guidelines on individual copies being made.

You can be taken to court for copying and selling any piece of software. However, if you were taken to court over a backup and the software company said that was fine as that was their tacit 'approach', YOU would in likelihood win, as there is no set sanction for the court to follow.

[Nick_UK]

The 1988 Act now allows software backup, but didn't change the copyright of other works.

[the_sanguine]

Do I get a discount from Korda for bringing it up? The brother in law wants one for Christmas.....

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Nick_UK

The 1988 Act now allows software backup, but didn't change the copyright of other works.

Nearly there.............

[Monty Burns]

Originally Posted by Miniholic

So the shops selling orignals at £20 a go is a rip off, but £40 for a few dodgy DVD-R's isn't?

hehehe yeah I wondered that. If he was seriously using this as a tag line and ment the meaning behind it then surley it would be like 5 pounds to cover him putting the dvd's in the drive, pressing record and bunging them into a jiffy bag.

I guess we won't understand the mentality of these people, what with us not mass copying dvd's n stuff

[overkill]

Originally Posted by t-force

Isn't doing anything to circumvent copy protection - like copying DVDs, removing macrovision etc - banned under the digital millenium copyright act? That's what Sony used for banning the sale of mod-chips.

Thats an interesting one T-force............. I always assumed it was, but apparently, the use of some copyright protection is also illegal! See Sonys latest fiasco for updates on that. So, how does that work?