Is a show Public Domain? (1 Viewer)

[David Levine]

And that's because you are buying programs or movies that you know are out legitimately on DVD. Most of the bootlegs that turn up on Amazon are not bootlegs of things that are legally available in R1 - they are for shows that do not yet (and may never get) a release in the US.

It goes back to my main point. If you just do a little research you should be able to find out if there is a legit release of something. If there is and you go to a place like Amazon and it is listed as having the same production studio as your research turned up, you have no chance of getting a bootleg. But to just assume that its on Amazon so it must be legit is naive.

Here, have some examples. These are absolutely 100% bootlegs:

Amazon.com: Street Fighter Saga: Chiba S-Sonny Chiba Streetfighter: Movies & TV

Amazon.com: Sister Street Fighter / The Street Fighter's Last Revenge: Multi: Movies & TV

You will notice they in fact say "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available."

Here is an example of a bootleg that has been caught. It was at one time sold by Amazon, they are aware of it now and you will notice that there is no way to buy it now - not from Amazon, no links to Marketplace. Nothing. Its just a dead placeholder now that will eventually be purged from the system:

Amazon.com: Visionaries DVD Boxset - Complete Series (2 Disc): Susan Blu, Peter Cullen: Movies & TV

 

[nolesrule]

I went to that Visionaries link and saw an amazon link to a M.A.S.K. set, but that's a bootleg too. I wish there was a real release for that series. I was a bigger fan of that than even Transformers, and I had most of toys till my little brother trashed them all.

 

[Jon Martin]

Ok, I guess I understand what is going on. Mark has a different understanding of what a bootleg is.

Mark - David and I and others aren't referring to bootleg versions of studio product. Amazon does not deal in that.

We are referring to unauthorized versions of titles owned by studios that have never been released. Those are the bootlegs that Amazon sells. No studio has released it, so a third party releases it without having the rights to. Amazon does carry these.

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[David Levine]

Right. Which is what the OP's original question was all about. He wasn't worried about buying an honest release and getting a bootleg, he wanted to know if a show actually had a legitimate release in the first place.

 

[Ockeghem]

In the sound recordings environment, there is also a difference between a 'bootleg,' a 'counterfeit,' and a 'pirate.' I don't know if the three terms apply to formats other than sound recordings, but in the aural medium, the term 'bootleg' is often used as a wastebasket term for all three categories.

This is similar to how the term 'classical' is often used to describe and/or categorize some older musics even though the musics being referenced may have been written in the 16th (= renaissance), 17th (= early and middle baroque), or 19th (= romantic) centuries. It is all 'classical' depending on the audience listening to and experiencing it, although those who know and study the historical periods know the difference and are usually careful to qualify.

If anyone wants to research the difference between the three terms, a fun starting point might be C. Reinhart, You Can't Do That! Beatles Bootlegs & Novelty Records, 1963-80. (Rock & Roll Reference Series, 5). Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian Press, 1981. xxvii, 411 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm. Discography. LCCN: 80-83515. AU@000002056056. ISBN: 0876501285. ISBN: 9780876501283. NZ1 2574491. Accession no. (OCLC): 7596497. WorldCat entry: 19810629.

Reinhart does an excellent job in describing the difference between a bootleg, counterfeit, and pirated album.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Any site that allows third party sellers is subject to distributing unauthorized product, including Amazon. Even listings on Amazon that appear to be legit (ie sold by Amazon) could be bootleg product, since Amazon allows third party sellers to do product fulfillment through them. I've seen plenty of bootleg product on Amazon - it may not stay there forever, but it does show up.

If you can only find one source for a given product, chances are it isn't legit.

 

[Ethan Riley]

I think we should stop saying "bootleg" and start saying "unauthorized." Because "unauthorized" is, I think, what the OP really wanted to talk about.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

At any rate, Regulus is right. If a show is in the public domain, then that means that any company can produce a copy of that show and mass produce it for sale. Public domain titles aren't bootleg or pirated versions of that release.

 

[Charles Ellis]

Not only that, you or me could just as easily produce own own copies to sell. Just get a 8mm, 16mm, or even 35mm film of a PD movie or TV episode and dupe to disc, and you too, can sell it legally. Like publishers putting out new editions of the Bible, Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, et cetera.

 

[Radioman970]

Chiming in to add nothing more than to say this is interesting stuff.


Btw, will they ever work out the rights to the film The Stepfather? I have a tape and a DVD of the lesser sequel but I want the original, by God!

 

[Charles Ellis]

Well, a remake is coming out, so dont be surprised if the issue is cleared up soon!

 

[Radioman970]

Charles, I was hoping that would happen. I'd like to find the ones responsible for keeping this off the market and show them a house.

 

[cajunhillbilly]

That is a double negative and means that Amazon does sell this stuff. A double negative in the English language is a positive. If you had left off the "not" after "doesn't" it would be gramatically correct.

 

[sestamuch]

Funny that you mention it, I only spotted this now, indeed "doesn't not sell it" means it does sell it. A minor distraction.

 

[David Levine]

Originally Posted by Radioman970

http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/16-dvd-a-blu-ray/3073-at-last-original-stepfather-coming-to-dvd.html

 

[Kronosis]

Originally Posted by Regulus

I went to the Library of Congress, unfortunately WHERE DO I GO FROM THERE? I Keyed in the name of that rumored TV Show, only to get something about a Christmas Carol.

Any Suggestions?

Hi Regulus! I know I'm getting into the discussion late and I will blame that on the fact that I just found this wonderful Forum late last night.

Here's where I go, but beware of how reliable it actually is. It does help in searches though:

http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First

It's a link to the Copyright Office website. I went there in search of finding out any info regarding THE TEXAN, starring Rory Calhoun. Without going back and checking it again, I think some company renewed the copyright to the show in the mid to late 1970's.

I hope this may help in your search!


Edited by Kronosis - 7/2/2009 at 11:52 pm GMT

 

[Jeff Willis]

David,

Thanks for helping out Regulus and Welcome to the HTF world! You'll find that this is an awesome place of information and a well-moderated Bd.

- Jeff W.

 

[Kronosis]

Originally Posted by Jeff Gatie

In most cases it doesn't matter. If the original is copy protected, then breaking copy protection is the problem. No matter what the copyright is on the content, circumventing the copy protection scheme is against the law. IN 99% of the cases, bootlegs are illegal. Period.

Hi Jeff! It was my understanding that, shows in the public domain, no matter who releases them, are still in the Public Domain. Let's take the 16 or 17 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, as an example. You know as well as I that these episodes have been released by several companies (sometimes they try to fool you in thinking they are different episodes, but they're not). And the first thing you notice when you pop in the disc and start watching an episode is that the beginning music is different. That's because the Theme Song To The Andy Griffith Show is still copyrighted and cannot be used. Whatever musical beginning and ending that's used is copyrighted, but the actual shows themselves are in the PD.
I stuck in a Platinum Corp. Annie Oakley disc the other day and noticed it had copyright protection. Does that mean the menus are copyrighted by Platinum, or the entire shows are? I see these same episodes popping up on other western compilations.

And then, I start wondering about shows like The Whirybirds and Sea Hunt and The Texan and I wonder if they are now in the PD. Speaking of Sea Hunt, I just noticed a few weeks back that on their YouTube website, MGM has started offering Sea Hunt episodes for viewing, so I guess that MGM owns the majority of these shows as well. I always wondered about Sea Hunt being in the PD. Up until the last season or there abouts, it was always a ZIV Production. Then, all of a sudden, United Artists/ZIV started showing up in their closing credits.
Edited by Kronosis - 7/2/2009 at 07:43 pm GMT

 

[Regulus]

Thank You Kronosis! This is EXACTLY the information I was looking for. As I suspected, the story I heard about a certain TV show becoming Public Domain is FALSE.

 

[Kronosis]

Originally Posted by Regulus /forum/thread/289125/is-a-show-public-domain/30#post_3579261

Hey Regulus! Nice to meet you, and I'm glad I could help out!