THE JOKER IS WLD

Can't seem to find this out on the net. However, unscrupulous eBay sellers are often not concerned about whether or not a movie is truly PD. They rip, burn and copy ad infinitum whatever they think will sell (i.e. non-dvd titles such as THE ANIMAL WORLD (1956), copies of which I've seen advertised frequently, taken from 16mm or VHS sources) and only occasionally do the eBay admins catch them and delete their listings. I cannot advise you regarding THE JOKER IS WILD. If you want it bad enough, you will risk paying for a copy that may be illegal, but also completely unwatchable.

By the way, buying The Joker Is Wild does not violate copyright laws. Selling it does. However, discussing bootlegs is against the rules here at HTF, so there's a chance this thread will be deleted, anyway.

Incorrect.  "Selling" has nothing to do with copyright law.  It is just as much a violation of copyright to give away a bootleg copy of a film as it is to sell one.  It is just as much a violation to exhibit such a film (including by playing it on your DVD player) as it is to sell one.  When we buy a DVD what we really buy is a license to view that DVD under limited circumstances.  We can't, for instance, take a copy of 2001 on Blu-Ray and show it at a science fiction convention.  That requires a public performance license, which is not included in the price we pay for the disc.  A bootleg has no license of any kind associated with it, so we have no right to even own the thing, or to use it.  There is this odd notion that violations only take place when money changes hands, but that is simply not the case. 

Now it is true that the FBI is not going to come to your house and knock down your door looking for a copy of Joker's Wild, but that's because they have more important things to do, not because they couldn't technically sieze the disc if you showed up on their radar for some other reason. 

Nor is there any reason to think that this thread will be deleted. 

Robin saw a suspicious product and very properly asked about it.  He or she did not provide a link to the sale or in any way advocate or promote buying the product.  There is nothing wrong with asking if something is a bootleg, or getting an answer to that question, or discussing, in general terms, what does or does not constitute a bootleg. 

Regards,

Joe