Cheap Paramount movies
p2p news / p2pnet: Popular demand has forced Warner Bros to start selling “selected” movies for a mere $2.75 in major Chinese cities.
Unfortunately, the demand isn’t for its product. Rather, movie fans are buying affordable knock-offs and as Tony Vaughan, managing director of CAV Warner Home Entertainment Co, Warner Bros’ joint venture distribution company in China, summed it up brilliantly, "The reason why piracy’s come along is that there weren’t enough products at the right price soon enough.”
Err, Yes.
Now, a Japanese court has thrown out a bid by Paramount Pictures, “to halt sales of bargain-priced DVD releases of movie classics,” says a Kyodo News story quoted by the Associated Press, and which goes on:
“The Tokyo District Court ruled that the copyrights to the movies in question had already expired and the company releasing them again in DVD format, First Trading Corp., was not required to stop its sales, the report said.”
Many versions of such DVD movie classics are priced as low as 500 yen ($4.40) in Japan, an eighth of the cost of Paramount’s price of 4,179 yen ($36.70), says AP, adding:
“Paramount originally released the titles before 1953, and their 50-year patents expired, putting them into the public domain. A 2004 law extended copyright protection for films by 20 years.
“Judge Makiko Takabe rejecting Paramount’s claims that its products that had entered the public domain are retroactively subject to patent protection for 20 more years under the new law, Kyodo said.”
Roman Holiday, Citizen Kane and Casablanca are examples of movies Hollydud is trying to re-capture.
Digg this.
Also See:
mere $2.75 – Warner Bros movies at $2.75, July 2, 2006
Associated Press – Japan court rejects Paramount’s request to halt sales of cheap DVDs, July 11, 2006
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July 12th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
“Judge Makiko Takabe rejecting Paramount’s claims that its products that had entered the public domain are retroactively subject to patent protection for 20 more years under the new law, Kyodo said.”
A neophyte lawyer could have told Paramount that laws cannot be retroactive.
But, the retroactivity of copyright has been applied to copyright routinely. How they (the music publisher cartels) get away with it is beyond me. This is how Mickey Mouse is still under alleged copyright. RETROACTIVITY OF THE LAW, A (USA) CONTITUTIONALLY WRONG CONCEPT.
Het, Mickey Mouse is now free, in the public domain, at last, at least in Japan.
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
Rafael Venegas