Posted on 07/08/2006 9:24:52 PM PDT by BenLurkin
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Sanitizing movies on DVD or VHS tape violates federal copyright laws, and several companies that scrub films must turn over their inventory to Hollywood studios, an appeals judge ruled.
Editing movies to delete objectionable language, sex and violence is an "illegitimate business" that hurts Hollywood studios and directors who own the movie rights, said U.S. District Judge Richard P. Matsch in a decision released Thursday in Denver.
"Their (studios and directors) objective ... is to stop the infringement because of its irreparable injury to the creative artistic expression in the copyrighted movies," the judge wrote. "There is a public interest in providing such protection."
Matsch ordered the companies named in the suit, including CleanFlicks, Play It Clean Video and CleanFilms, to stop "producing, manufacturing, creating" and renting edited movies. The businesses also must turn over their inventory to the movie studios within five days of the ruling.
"We're disappointed," CleanFlicks chief executive Ray Lines said. "This is a typical case of David vs. Goliath, but in this case, Hollywood rewrote the ending. We're going to continue to fight."
CleanFlicks produces and distributes sanitized copies of Hollywood films on DVD by burning edited versions of movies onto blank discs. The scrubbed films are sold over the Internet and to video stores.
As many as 90 video stores nationwide -- about half of them in Utah -- purchase movies from CleanFlicks, Lines said. It's unclear how the ruling may effect those stores.
The controversy began in 1998 when the owners of Sunrise Family Video began deleting scenes from "Titanic" that showed a naked Kate Winselt.
The scrubbing caused an uproar in Hollywood, resulting in several lawsuits and countersuits.
Directors can feel vindicated by the ruling, said Michael Apted, president of the Director's Guild of America.
"Audiences can now be assured that the films they buy or rent are the vision of the filmmakers who made them and not the arbitrary choices of a third-party editor," he said.
The proper solution would be for a company to sell DVD players that could accept open-format "edit lists". I think there was legislation awhile ago to explicitly allow for such, though I don't know what happened to it.
Again sir, I say the please check what I have written. I am saying what you just told me to half the people ont his thread! Do you not realize that? I know it is against the copyright laws. I believe from the very first post the liberal agenda was interjected into this. I am only saying despite peoples hatred for liberals, they did nothing wrong in this. Please tell me you understand what I am saying or do I need to send you every post I have written?
Do you agree with copyright laws?
Or do you only want them when they protect things that you like politically or religiously?
Sure seems like that to me.
Cut all the liberal hollywood crap its not germane to the argument. Immigration and NAMBLA and ACLU are not parts of the argument either, just your emotional ramblings.
Its about the right of the copyright holders to not have people destroy and profit from their work.
Read this paragraph in the story. It should clear it up:
"CleanFlicks produces and distributes sanitized copies of Hollywood films on DVD by burning edited versions of movies onto blank discs. The scrubbed films are sold over the Internet and to video stores."
You ain't allowed to make copies to sell.
No, they did do something wrong in this, they altered something that they didn't have permission to do, whether its something you agree with or not, it was wrong. Liberal or conservative, it was wrong.
We should rescind all restrictions on murder because after all that is only "emotions" too. Wanting to live is a mere emotion, why should we care about that.
Let's sue people for the very freedoms written in the constitution. Theaters are supposed to keep children under 17 out of R rated movies. You can't buy them in the store unless you are a certain age. You want to see disgusting, go to Europe and watch some comercials on public TV. Listen to the things they say.
Your tactics are just like the ACLU. Sue them because they aren't your beliefs and the freedoms they express "offend you." Ugh. Conservatives like you make me ashamed to call myself one.
You want controlled media, move to North Korea.
Show me where the Cleancos didn't purchase a license for each copy sold. They would not have gotten in dutch had they faithfully left the filth in each copy.
Hollywood people should be painted yellow and used as pylons in high school drivers ed courses! They are all bazillion-trillionaires who lounge by the pool all day dreaming up trendy and disgusting foods. THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUSHI!
Murder has nothing to do with this case, not germane. Completely offtopic and senseless post on your part.
Copyright law is the law, either live by the rule of law or break it, you can't do both.
Sadly, I don't think everyone would get your satire.
What a falsehood; the Cleancos never asked for a filthy movie to be burned.
On the contrary murder is an excellent example. Is not your aversion a mere emotion?
I say again sir, I relaize this! It is wrong! Are you doing this to antagonize me? Are you not reading what I am replying to you?
I KNOW IT IS WRONG!!!!! I HAVE BEEN SAYING IT ALL NIGHT!!!! YOU ARE ATTACKING THE WRONG PERSON!!!! I HAVE BEEN SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING YOU JUST TOLD ME!!!! LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE IT IS WRONG!!!!!
They purchased the DVD, they have to abide by the license, that is what the law says. They didn't have the license to change the DVD.
Also, Congress may tailor copyright law at will. There is nothing binding Congress to keeping copyright law tomorrow what it was today or yesterday.
No, its not.
Murder is not akin to copyright protection.
One judge opined this. One.
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