Is this Legal? (Simpsons Movies on CLIE)

[jamesj1k]

I have a question before I may possibly do something that is illegal.

I have the Simpsons SEASON 2 dvd's and converted them to .mpg an then to Sony Clie movie player (.MQV) to watch on my PDA (TG50). They work great!

Heres the question, I was thinking of providing the MQV files for other users to play on their Sony CLIES. One episode is 47mb long. So about 1gb (2 CD-ROMs) for all 2 seasons. I was only going to charge a $5 per CD shipping and handling charge and give it to people that MUST allready have the 2nd season DVD's but dont have the hours to convert them to Clie Movie Player format.

Is this legal if I only charge shipping/handling and if the user has the original DVD's?

James

[Alistar]

Sorry Misread the post, if you read my unedited answer ignore it.

I am not sure about that, but how will you have them prove that they alreayd own the DVD anyways

[ClieT615]

Well, I'm no lawyer, but I'd say you're skating on thin ice. First of all, I'm not even sure it's legal to rip the DVD. Then you are charging shipping and handling which seems to me like you're selling copyrighted material.

Although your intentions are noble, I would avoid selling/giving these to "Joe Public" and just give them to people you know (although even that's probably technically illegal).

[rlc7254]

:(

 

In the strict sense of the law, it is illegal. The copyright law are very specific about reproducing and distribution. If you read the FBI warning at the beginning of the DVDs,  it says it is illegal to reproduce the item in any form, etc, etc. If you were converting these for your own personal Clie and personal use, it would still be illegal in the strict letter of the law, but you most likely would not be in trouble. The Sony Betamax case would be a good defense. But once you start distributing them to other folks, friends, etc, then yes, you stand a chance of running into problems if anyone were to find out about it.

I am not an attorney, and this is only my opinion, but I sell old time radio programs that are in the public domain, and have had several instances where I have had to research copyright law, and how it applies to the media and the reproduction of material.

 

 :D

 

 

[cjones]

Originally posted by jamesj1k
I have a question before I may possibly do something that is illegal.

I have the Simpsons SEASON 2 dvd's and converted them to .mpg an then to Sony Clie movie player (.MQV) to watch on my PDA (TG50). They work great!

James

unregistered - just a specific question related to you playing the movies. you said you converted them to .mpg and then to .mqv. couldn't you have just played them as .mpg *on* the memory stick? I assume the movie player on your TG50 is the same as my NZ90.

do me a quick favor and read this thread and let me know (by replying to the thread) if you have any answers.

http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9438

Thanks!

-chris

[danno]

Reproducing for your own, personal use is probably not a violation of copyright. (Similar to taping a TV show). But distributing to others is most certainly a violation of copyright. (It prevents the company, who owns the copyright, from making money from all the others who "purchase" the produt from you. It also prevents all who are involved in the program (actors, writers, producers) from getting their "royalty" -- the only way they really make money. Charging a fee would also most likely get you in trouble with your local and State sales tax organizations and the IRS.

[cbulock]

Originally posted by cjones


unregistered - just a specific question related to you playing the movies. you said you converted them to .mpg and then to .mqv. couldn't you have just played them as .mpg *on* the memory stick? I assume the movie player on your TG50 is the same as my NZ90.

do me a quick favor and read this thread and let me know (by replying to the thread) if you have any answers.

http://www.cliesource.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9438

Thanks!

-chris

The Image Converter encodes the files in MPEG-4 format, so the files will be tons smaller. I was converting some TV episodes and in MPEG format they were about 200-250MB and in .MQV format they were about 80MB.

[Sneezy]

Don't do it, James!

You could get into some serious trouble doing this. Various companies have been cracking down on this sort of copyright infringement. It seems like a nice jesture doing it for free and all, but I am concerned that you might be punished for being a nice guy. Unfortunately, these companies won't let you plead ignorance, either.

[jamesj1k]

I consulated with a few people and I wont do it :-)

The reason I convert to mqv is because the video goes from 250mb to 47mb.

James