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MPAA Wants Filmmakers To Pay Licenses, Not Rip Blu-rays (torrentfreak.com)

Posted by msmash on from the keep-the-revenue-flowing dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Late last year several filmmaker groups asked the US Copyright Office to lift some of the current DMCA circumvention restrictions, so they can rip and use clips from Blu-rays and other videos without repercussions. In the US, people risk bypassing DMCA's anti-circumvention when they rip a DVD or Blu-ray disc. (There are some exemptions, such as educational and other types of fair use, but the line between legal and illegal is not always clear, some argue.) Not everyone agrees with this assessment though. A group of "joint creators and copyright owners" which includes Hollywood's MPAA, the RIAA, and ESA don't think this is a good idea and point out that filmmakers have plenty of other options. The MPAA and the other groups point out that the exemption could be used by filmmakers to avoid paying licensing fees, which can be quite expensive.

8 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. Fuck the MPAA by stealth_finger · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But why do film makers need to lift so much footage from other films? Does this happen a lot outside of stock footage situations? Documentaries sure but there's an exemption for that it seems.

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    1. Re:Fuck the MPAA by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Funny

      But why do film makers need to lift so much footage from other films?

      For things like the Transformers movies. I think there's only been two actual movies filmed and all the other ones are clipped together from them.

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    2. Re:Fuck the MPAA by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 3, Funny

      Not on proper Blu-Ray player software - which requires a secure content path from the decoder to the screen, including HDCP. If you're saying you can get a screen grab, you are probably issuing a player that already breaks the encryption.

      I usually just lay a 14 inch HDMI monitor on my flatbed scanner for a quick screen grab. If I need a higher quality one, I'll make a bunch of scans off of my 55 in TV and stitch them together. So far my Blu-ray software hasn't complained about it. ;-)

  2. Fair use, anyone? by rickb928 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm a little shocked, shocked! the film makers want to be exempted from copyright they rely on to derive revenue from their work, so they can apparently use other film makers' work for free.

    Why could this be wrong? Well, first, fair use is the proper exemption. Of course it could apply, unless of course there is profit involved. I'm guessing they want to use clips in place of stock footage, or perhaps real world event clips to fit plot, or even steal outright clever stuff.

    Let them eat cake.

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    1. Re:Fair use, anyone? by GrumpySteen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem is that the fair use rights (which you admit are the proper exemption here) are blocked by movie studios using encryption on released video. The use of the clip may be legal, but the decrypting the video to get the clip is illegal under the DMCA.

  3. Re:A great listen. RIAA? No! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People still use Blue-Rays for other uses than coffee coasters? Amazing.

    Are you shitting me?

    For movies I want to keep and watch whenever I want, I still buy them on BluRay.

    No download to worry about, no asking permission from some asshole movie studio to validate my license, no 'content no longer available' after I paid for it, nobody's goddamned business how many times I watch it, and I don't have to give my contact information to anybody like you do with Ultraviolet.

    I have no interest in a digital only copy which is controlled by someone else, because those people are assholes.

  4. Re:A great listen. RIAA? No! by sexconker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Bandwidth isn't the issue here, dude.

    Regardless of how much bandwidth you have, streaming sites, digital storefronts, and the free "digital downloads" included with many movies are shit in terms of quality when you compare them to the physical release.

  5. Angels With Filthy Souls by tepples · · Score: 3, Insightful

    1 is probably not fair use, as the production could instead produce an original film and have the characters watch that film. In fact, "Angels With Filthy Souls" in Home Alone is exactly that.

    2. The production can instead build a replica set. That's how it'd have to be done anyway for movies set before color motion picture film became widespread.

    3. Star Trek Generations and Star Trek VI share a distributor. Licensing is a doddle in such cases.