Studios Sue to Stop 'Family-Friendly' DVD Service

Yahoo ^ | 11/15/10 | Eriq Gardner

[DemforBush]

Hollywood is once again going to battle with the puritans.

A coalition of major studios including Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM, Disney, Universal and Fox has filed a lawsuit against a defendant who has taken movies, altered them to be free of objectionable content, and is distributing them to consumers as "family-friendly."

[DemforBush]

I foresee numerous flames coming my way, but I'm siding with Hollyweird 100% on this one. The films that Webster is editing and repackaging through his company (Family Edited DVDS), aren't his property to alter.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

One of the duties of Congress under the constitution is to establish copyright law. These dvds clearly violate our copyright law. The way to assure family friendly films is to find a market for them and produce them.

[2banana]

Is handing out blank DVD’s against the law?

[aimhigh]

I’m sure they will sue the airlines next, since they also edit out the sewage. /sarc/

[Artemis Webb]

I can’t tell you how many movies I would not allow my kids to see because of one or two short scenes in the movie. It’s frustrating when movie makers don’t consider that in the process of making a movie.

However, the movies are the property of the movie maker. They are not this guys movies to edit and repackage.

[max americana]

reminds me of the Sopranos on the Pax network...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m43o5IhAcec&playnext=1&list=PL43C7ADD2400F9C19&index=11

what the F(bleep)

[Sto Zvirat]

I agree, films are property and they must be shown the way that there creators either intended, or agreed to (network TV), anything else is complete violation of copyright law.

You wouldn’t want any group taking a book you wrote and removing your words would you? Film is art, art should not ever be censored.

[xjcsa]

Is handing out blank DVD’s against the law?

No, but I'm not sure what that has to do with anything.

[TexNewMex]

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had no trouble just skipping/fast-forwarding through objectionable scenes. I completely agree that the moviemakers hold the copyrights and their films shouldn’t be tampered with.

[Egg]

However, the movies are the property of the movie maker. They are not this guys movies to edit and repackage."

Why are movies different than any other private property I purchase and later sell? Can I not modify a car that I bought and re-sell it? Yet I can only re-sell a DVD if I haven't altered it, even if the buyer knows I've altered it? Even if the buyer prefers that I alter it?

[mountn man]

If you take a movie and copy it to DVD and then sell that copy, thats piracy.

[Egg]

Film is art, art should not ever be censored.

You don't understand the definition of censorship, which isn't occurring here.

[Sto Zvirat]

Each film has an owner, who decides what can be done with the film, this company is subverting that. Ownership means something.

[xjcsa]

I’m sure they will sue the airlines next, since they also edit out the sewage. /sarc/

Airlines pay for the rights to show movies, and they obtain the agreement of the copyright holders for the edits that are made. They don't just buy the DVD at Wal-Mart and edit it.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

Once I own your art, I can chop it up all I want, color the nude parts and cut out the cussing - because it’s mine. This guy just needs to sell a chop and silence software for the movie, like the guy that sells the solftware and the player - and it’s ours to do as we please.

You take politicans words and do the same?

[Egg]

If you take a movie and copy it to DVD and then sell that copy, thats piracy.

Only if you sell it before destroying the original. The courts have long upheld the right of people to keep backup copies. But even if you sell the original, it's illegal to keep your backup copy.

[max americana]

The last movie my brother begged me to bring my nephews and nieces too was Toy Story 3 because he has a business engagement.

Even I enjoyed it. No political nonsense, just a great story for the entire family. Even I was almost in tears when Andy said goodbye in the end. I said “almost”..

[Artemis Webb]

Because the courts see copyright law differently than private property. You can sit on that computer until the day you pass from this earth and come up with analogies on why you think something like this should be okay. It’s not okay in the sense that it’s against the law. That’s just the way it is. If you don’t like it you’re welcome to contact your congressman. Good luck with that.

[cableguymn]

The correct way to do this is to sell a web enabled player that can download the times there is something that should be skipped and when that spot in a UNEDITED movie comes up it automatically skips to the time spot after it.

That way you can rent a movie or get one from netflix in the mail and the player will know what to do. No one needs to edit or repackage the film. Someone just needs to watch it and mark the bad spots on the timer.

Or, just do what we do. Don’t rent the movies in the first place.

[Egg]

Once I buy it, it’s mine. The only twist involves replicating and selling subsequent copies, as the original artists are entitled to compensation. But these post-editing companies work off a one-to-one basis. That is, for every DVD they edit, they purchase an original which is destroyed. There is no one being cheated out of their fair share here.