A few words about...™ Classic film piracy out in the open (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

It all simply comes down to cooperation.

RAH

 

[JoeDoakes]

There is a difference in copyright law between a copyright and a copyrighted article. Copyrights include the right to reproduce and the right to make a public performance. If someone has illegally reproduced a work and sold it, the sold item is counterfeit and could be seized by law enforcement. If someone bought a 16mm print for Warner Brothers or another studio, they own it. In general, they can't reproduce it or show it publically without a license, but they can show it in their home. If a studio throws away its prints, and someone gets them out of the trash, the question gets more debatable. Someone could claim that the studio abandoned the print and the finder now owns it. I don't know if there is any authority on that, but if the studio did abandon it, the finder would own a copyrighted article and not a copyright. Of course, one problem with many prints is that no one knows where they came from. Studios are as likely as not to claim they were stolen, although I read on HTF someone say that Warner Brothers is willing to work with private collectors who have elements they need.
One aspect of the piracy issue that I find interesting is the studio's attitude toward piracy of less marketable classic material. There was an obituary on Leonard Maltin's blog of someone he referred to as Marvin of the Movies (http://blogs.indiewire.com/leonardmaltin/farewell_marvin_of_the_movies). Marvin was a collector of films, and had many of them on VHS and DVD that had never been released on home video. Maltin said that when someone at a studio wanted to see something obscure, instead of arranging with a studio for a screening and having to hire a projectionist, they would often just call Marvin. Maltin got him to provide some Allan Jones 1940s Universal musicals he reviewed in his classic movie guide. Surely much of what Marvin had must have been copyrighted. Of course, in terms of actual harm, someone like Marvin can't be said to do much and may even be of some benefit to the copyright holders (e.g., by keeping interest in some of their copyrights alive); piraters of Star Wars or the latest theatrical releases can cost them billions.