[Oztrich Boy]

Nope. The Sanitzers are caught dead to rights are should be thrown into the slammer to make special friends with Roscoe the weightlifter.

BERNE CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF LITERARY AND ARTISTIC WORKS (Paris Text 1971)

Article 14
(1) Authors of literary or artistic works shall have the exclusive right of authorizing:
(i) the cinematographic adaptation and reproduction of these works, and the distribution of the works thus adapted or reproduced;
(ii) the public performance and communication to the public by wire of the works thus adapted or reproduced.

[eno_]

As has been pointed out, the sanitizers are not pirates. They perform no unauthorized distribution. They buy a product that is in distribution and modify it. I think you are trying to read into the word "distribution" something that isn't there. The copyright holder's ability to determine what is on the disc ends when the disc leaves the factory.

It would be like GM prohibiting me from buying Cadillacs and turning them into stretch limos. They still got paid for every car. They most certainly cannot prevent me from selling the limos.

[Paulus Invictus]

Is that a recognized international law? Does it work here in the USA, and is the nation held to these strange rulings?

The Chicoms and other Asians are stealing, cutting and adapting all kinds of videos as we write this. Are they to be punished by the Berne laws? .

Editing films or videos is commonplace on TV and videotapes everywhere. Do the directors also complain about losing control of their creation when this happens? I have seen amazing quantities of footage lying on cutting room floors after the film is "finished" and it always surprised me, having known many weird directors. Some of the guys that seemed most bent out of shape with such cuts were the cameramen. For them, every scene they shot was artistically "precious." The directors are often present when scene chopping happens, so why don't they go berserk when it does? I'm curious