DVD Copying Software The New Worldwide Boston Strangler For MPAA

from the overstepping-their-bounds? dept

The Motion Picture Association of America seems to be jumping across the pond into legal issues in the UK. They’re trying to ban the sale of DVD copying software from 321 Studios. This is the same software that the MPAA is trying to ban in the US, as well. The software is clearly designed just to allow people to make backup copies of their DVDs, and not to run some sort of huge pirating operation. I’m quite sure that real pirating operations have much more sophisticated tools. The only thing banning this software will do is piss off a bunch of people who want to exercise their fair use rights. The article also contains a quote from Jack Valenti, that sounds like it was repeated verbatim (hey, is that copyright infringement?) from his “Boston strangler” testimony against the horrible VCR (which went on to save the movie industry): “No one should be under any illusions about the damage that this dangerous software would do to consumer choice and film-making.” Actually, I think the same could be said about Jack Valenti.


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Comments on “DVD Copying Software The New Worldwide Boston Strangler For MPAA”

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4 Comments
LittleW0lf says:

DVDs last forever, right...

As Jack Valenti so poinently put it, DVDs last forever, and if they don’t, you can always buy another copy (at 24.99-39.99 a pop).

Of course, I’ve been sending my broken DVDs back to the distribution company…though they don’t seem to appreciate it, they do return a new copy (or atleast it doesn’t appear to be the old one I sent). They have said in the past that I should take it back to the company I got it from, but those usually don’t take them back. So it goes back to the distributor.

I have a scratched copy of Braveheart that needs to be fixed that I am about to send back soon, it skips chapters about half way through the movie.

Of course, when they complain, I just tell them that Jack Valenti says DVDs last forever, so obviously the one they sent me is defective as it didn’t last forever, and thus needs to be replaced. Haven’t had a single one rejected so far, but have only needed to return two.

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