Old Movies on eBay?

What is the name of your state? CA

I recently looked on Amazon for a few old movies that I remember from my childhood. Some of them were available on VHS, but not on DVD. I decided to look on eBay and did find these movies on DVD. I ordered them, and when I received them, realized that they were transfers from VHS copied onto DVD. They were described as "import" DVDs. I was still happy to receive the movies, but I was wondering about the legality of this. It seems like a great business idea. Would I get into trouble doing this same thing? It seems like an obvious answer, but if it is against copyright law, how can these sellers sell 50+ movies everyday? Some of them have been doing this for a couple of years. What do you think?

stillshadow said:

What do you think?

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I think that if the movies are still covered by copyright, the sellers would be in violation and eBay should be advised.

You would think so... but I actually even wrote to eBay about this, and they seemed to just give me a generic response covering their own butts: "We cannot make legal decisions, and sellers should use their best judgment".

This is totally off topic, but thanks for (inadvertently) reminding me that I'm looking for a copy of Shakespeare in Love on DVD. I appreciate it!

stillshadow said:

You would think so... but I actually even wrote to eBay about this, and they seemed to just give me a generic response covering their own butts: "We cannot make legal decisions, and sellers should use their best judgment".

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You asked 'what I thought', based on your very meager post alleging a possible copyright violation.
I answered with my opinion..... based on your very meager post alleging a possible copyright violation.
Now you respond with an even MORE meager post.... still not providing ANY specific information.
Do you get a hint here???

No, I didn't realize how "meager" my messages were. I don't know what more details I can give you, but I can try to elaborate. One movie I am talking about is Scavenger Hunt, which was made about 25 years ago, and the VHS is available for it, but was not released on DVD. I purchased a copy that looks like it was captured into a computer from the VHS copy, and burned onto DVD. It was for sale on eBay. These same sellers have been doing this for a couple of years, and have libraries of 50+ movies. Is this legal? How else can I spell it out?

Is this legal?

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No, not unless they have a license from the movie studio to do such a thing.

stillshadow said:

Is this legal?

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If the copyright is still valid, no.
If the copyright protection has expired, yes.

JETX said:

If the copyright is still valid, no.
If the copyright protection has expired, yes.

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How long is a copyright protection valid?

How do you find that out?

How long is a copyright protection valid?

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The answer to this question can be dependent upon a number of different facts, but as a general rule, most modern works have a copyright duration of 120 years or life of the author + 70 years.

How do you find that out?

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You need to know some facts about the particular work -- when it was first created, by whom, and where, when it was published, where it was first published, if it was published some time ago, then also whether or not it wasd published with a copyright notice and whether the copyright was ever renewed.

You can look here if you know some facts: http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm

Old movies & Copyrights.

Does the expiration of the copyright [authors death + 70 years][120 years] hold true for foreign films? How do I find out? Thanks

Ebay's number one consideration is the fees they get from each listing and sale. $$$$$$period.

test said:

Does the expiration of the copyright [authors death + 70 years][120 years] hold true for foreign films? How do I find out? Thanks

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Generally yes. If the films were originally published outside of the U.S. before about the 1950's, then there may be some compications -- but the general rule is that copyrights are national in scope, so if a foreign copyright owner comes to the U.S. to sue an infringer who is infringing in the U.S., then U.S. law will be applied, regardless of what country of origin the materials might have. This isn't a blanket rule -- it only covers Berne Convention signatories, for example -- but it covers most countries, and certainly all "developed" countries.