CopyRight Refrences/Knowledge

[savageamusement]

I am not posting this to get into a heated argument.
But as this discussion has come up- I am posting this as REFRENCE only.

I am not an attorney (and nor do I play one on T.V)

Read this, openly- maybe it will answer some questions for you-
Maybe it will arise others for you to answer on your own.



(this is in referance to the post about someone on ioffer posing as a copyright holder to F Troop) And several other issues as of lately.


Wheezer searched the US copyright office records online and Warner holds all copyrights to every episode. This Bob Logan and his production company are not found anywhere and I just wanted to put a post to let people know, if they are threatend they should check the US copyright office to make sure it is not a false claim and they are being blackmailed

Now in refrence to Copyright-Another moderator and I have been tackling this subject on another trading site I own- and after careful research this was the conclusion:

This is, and will be an ongoing question battle - however please read the below to answer some of the most common questions asked of me lately:


Fair Use Act is obsolete, and has been replaced by the DMCA (Digital
Media Copyright Act) which removes the "profit' angle from the picture.
According to the DMCA, duplication of ANY copyrighted materials is forbidden
EVEN if it is to back up your own purchases. Furthermore, it is
all-encompassing, not just with TV shows or movies. Now you are not even
LEGALLY able to backup even your copy of Windows in case it busts.

The proof of this is the requirement of all television stations by 2008 to
broadcast ONLY in HD. The DMCA provides for creators of shows to insert
encryption into their broadcasting that will curtail digital duplication of
programming. The US government is allowing millions of dollars in grants to
help with set-top HD converters.

The articles that you have quoted were valid for their time, but the DMCA
has changed the playing field immensely. The long and short of it is that
once you break the plane of your house with copyrighted material, EVEN IF NO
GAIN HAS BEEN ACHIEVED, you are guilty of copyright violations.

One of the main reasons for this change is P2P networks. With IRC,
Bittorrent, Kazaa, edonkey and others, distributing copyrighted materials
for nothing, the laws had to change. For example, DalNet on IRC used to
have HUNDREDS of channels devoted to TV show downloads. Two years ago
DalNet was sued for being the conduit for these downloads, even though
their bandwidth was not used. IF the Fair Use Act was truly as stated in
1994, what is the difference between me sending you a copy of Wednesday's
Veronica Mars, and me going onto Bittorrent and downloading it myself? The
end result is the same. There is no profit at all for the downloader or
uploader, so no violation SHOULD occur.

Try this to prove my point. Call your ISP and say this: I want to download
this week's episode of 24 on Monday night. I would do it with Kazaa. Now
see how far you get into the conversation before they tell you it is a
violation of your TOS. The fact is, the DMCA is what forbids it, not the
ISP.

From personal experience Another modeartor I know, validated some of this In 2000 he was charged with distributing episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on IRC. he got a
cease and desist letter from his ISP with the explanation that the DMCA
forbids distribution of copyrighted materials regardless of intent and they wanted his physical address to serve him for 50,000 in commercial losses. Now remember, he gained nothing from this. he did not charge for my server, and he did not allow access to my server until 24 hours after the episode aired commercially (which meant he did not steal from advertising revenues).

Bottom line is the DMCA is infinitely more clear about the 'profit' part of
this whole thing. Read the disclaimer on any recent movie or released
series. It says duplication for any reason, regardless of profit, is
forbidden.

My final thought for this email is this: the FUA had a watchword of
"concrete losses", but the DMCA uses the watchword of "potential losses".
Anything you MAY distribute/trade/give away MAY have a potential impact on
future sales.


There have been a lot of discussions of people "turning" other people in.
Traders turning on traders.
Sellers turning on sellers.
I have been received "private information" to remove traders whom have crossed this line as of late.

I don't want to drop things to a minimal value- but the simple fact is- we share this hobby, we SHARE this risk.
If someone wants to make an issue with someone they can. I don't know how far they will get, but can try to make a point, or an example out you for selling, for trading, for distribution, if they so chose.
And I guarauntee those parties that count, have far more resources at their fingertips.

So I offer this one solid set of advice.

1KNOW your trader, know whom you are dealing with.
Know the site you are dealing with- and take a moment to get to know the moderator.
New yahoo sites are popping up all over the place.
Your time and effort, materials and expense are worth the time to post a trader check, or a site check.

2-Understand you risk far more selling than trading. Simply put.
But understand GETTING doesn't necessarily excuse responsiblity- or even minimize consequences.

3-If something goes wrong I can NOT stress this enough, contact Me, a moderator, another trader, the forum- anyone whom can help you mediate the situation.
But turning a trader in - threats of the authorities, threats of ISP carriers, threats of finding out if they sell and "bringing them down"
Is considered a betrayal- and usually only mkaes matters worse between you and the trader, and future trades-
And wether you realize it or not, puts you at risk as well.
Potentially for investigation or example

I can't swear that contacting others or posting for help will cure the problems or stress of a trade, but I can say that the community of traders and the system of modeartion is set up for that support, and for that help.

Most of us have been scammed before.
Threatened before- Used before, taken advantage of. it is part of the risk of trading.

So take time -
Know your facts
Know your traders
Know your sites
Know your risks.



-SavageAmusement