DVD Customers Are Not Movie Pirates
Major Hollywood movie studios have recently launched a public relations offensive against internet “piracy” of their movies and television programming, making their case before Congress, the FCC and even on "60 Minutes."
But much of what Hollywood calls “piracy” may actually be consumer demand going unmet by legitimate supply. All too frequently, it is Hollywood’s own stubborn unwillingness to give law-abiding customers what they want that drives many of them to search out unauthorized alternatives.
Consider Hollywood’s attitude toward DVDs. With billions sold, the DVD is the dominant consumer medium for accessing digital video. Of course, many of the most popular movies on DVD are also available for downloading and viewing from unauthorized sources on the internet, a fact that is not likely to change.
Logic suggests that the best way to compete with these unauthorized alternatives is make the legitimate DVD alternative more attractive to customers, just as Apple’s iTunes has been successfully doing with digital music. Instead, Hollywood has been working overtime to make the DVD less attractive, less convenient and more expensive for law-abiding customers.
Consider three examples.
First, instead of catering to customers who want an inexpensive, convenient way to watch new DVD releases at home, Hollywood wants to force them to wait. Three major motion picture studios have declared war on Redbox, the company that is behind the red, automated DVD rental kiosks popping up in front of Walmart, McDonald’s and other retail destinations and around the country.
The price is right (99 cents per night) and the locations convenient (no separate trip to Blockbuster). Yet the studios have attacked Redbox because they do not want to see 99 cent rentals for at least a month after a DVD goes on sale (and many months after the movie was in theaters).
Copyright law does not give movie studios the power to delay DVD rentals, so these studios have resorted to pressuring wholesalers to cut off Redbox’s supply, a tactic that has landed the studios in court. The fight may be between Redbox and the studios, but the losers are consumers who may turn to unauthorized sources rather than wait patiently for movie studios to maximize their revenues.
Second, Hollywood has repeatedly attacked DVD owners’ ability to copy their DVDs onto a home media server or portable video player.
Even the music industry admits that when customers buy CDs, they are entitled to copy them onto personal computers and iPods. In contrast, Hollywood has steadfastly maintained that the same copying of DVDs is illegal. As a result, companies that have tried to offer new ways to enjoy the DVDs you already own have been sued.
Real Networks, for example, wanted to build a DVD player with a hard drive in it, so that DVD owners could have a TiVo-like experience when browsing their movie libraries from any TV in the house. Another company called Kaleidescape, already selling a luxury-oriented version of the same idea, is also under attack. Once again, while the innovators are the ones being sued, it is the law-abiding customers who purchased DVDs who lose.
Hollywood’s olive branch to these movie fans has been to offer a select few DVDs that bundle inferior “digital copies” together with the DVD feature. Those half-hearted offerings will hardly satisfy the millions of customers who already have DVD libraries at home.
Finally, consider the plight of movie fans who want to use their DVDs to make creative videos to post on sites like YouTube. Fans of Fox television’s "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," for example, have built an entire genre of smart, creative music videos around clips from the DVD releases. Yet when noncommercial remix creators asked the U.S. Copyright Office to allow DVD ripping, the studios sent their lawyers to block the request.
Treating these fans like criminals alienates real customers, without making a dent on unauthorized internet infringement. In fact, Hollywood’s arguments would paradoxically make it more legal for a remix creator to download an unauthorized copy from the Internet than to copy a DVD she owns!
Hollywood would have you believe that those it calls “pirates” are simply digital shoplifters. But until Hollywood stops treating legitimate DVD owners and renters like criminals, we won’t know how many so-called “pirates” would prefer to pay for movies and television programs, if only the movie studios would let them do so.
Comments
Yoni Says
Ironic that Hollywood calls copyright violators "pirates"
while glorifing the historical Caribbean violent criminals.
Let's call copyright owners who violate consumer rights
rapists or child molesters or well-poisoners.
Copyright violation might be a crime or it might be a tort,
but to call it piracy is an insult to the victims of genuine
criminal piracy.
Michael Foote Says
Boy is that an understatement about digital copies. Got Star Trek on Blu Ray last week. Looks great. However the digital copy looks worse than an upconverted DVD. Like most laptops these days, mine has an HD screen (even have an HD tuner). Was using the digital copy to find the "easter eggs" in the movie, and the quality is so disappointing.
Film Futurist Says
Control (often govt-sanctioned) is how ALL Cartels have thrived in history. Hollywood is just another cartel, which cannot bear the thought that "pirates" and other other anarchic forces could threaten the rules of their game. May they live and die by the forces of the market they once ruled.
Geoff Says
Hollywood isn't just losing out with this "buy from us or else" attitude, but with sheer lousy product quality.
From my standpoint, with the sole exception of Pixar, nothing that's come out of Hollywood in the past three years has been worth going to a theater for, never mind renting in DVD. If it's worth DVD, my family calls it "Waiting for the paperback."
In the meantime, Netflix has come like manna from heaven, and we've found absolutely marvelous foreign films to be a bonanza of solid entertainment. Recent views have included "Twilight Samurai" (Japan), "In July" (Germany), "Bread and Tulips"(Italy), "Family Flaw" (Italy), and "O' Horten" (Norway). Plus others. And the ratio of good stuff to clunkers runs about ten or twelve to one.
So my question is fast becoming: Who the hell *needs* Hollywood?
martyr366 Says
Right on brother. A lot more elloquent than I would have said it. My wife and I opperated a chain of movie theatres in the late '70's to late '80's. The film companies definitely are super stupid when it comes to making films available. We were second run because they would not give us 1st run films. Our competetors threatened to putt the prints off thier screens jf we got one to show. Christ, we gave up to 95% of the ticket sales the first week and a sliding scale after that and a really healthy guarantee payment up front. Greedy thinking. Later they bought up the big movie chains and totally froze us out. They wanted the popcorn money too. Besides it gave them control of ticket price. Sound familiar? How much does a DVD cost to make? Abd how much does the average entertainer make from that sale?
These peole are penny wise and pound folish.
Paul Bristow Says
Let me give an example of just how crazy these digital copies are.
In Europe, it is legal to buy a DVD in country A and use it in country B. However, the included digital copy is linked to iTunes accounts in country A. So, after buying a legitimate copy of the DVD with "digital copy", the studios use a different agreement - not indicated on the packaging - to prevent use of the digital copy. This probably breaks consumer law.
Not to mention the outrageous advertising: "Own it on Monday" to describe a new DVD release, when what they should be made to say is "From Monday you can license the use of a single physical copy. Said license expires when the physical media breaks, and it is a crime to make a backup or format-shift". Hmm, would that sell so well?
Whisky Says
You hit it on the head. In my opinion, "piracy" and various manipulative/coercive practices by the music/film/print industries must be dealt with as part of a single issue. Ignorant and craven politicians are agreeing to split the two sides to the problem but one cannot be understood without the other. I am not excusing pirates here because they are the other side of the problem: creating the environment which s allowing the industries to gouge the consumers. However, though I am very focused on paying creators the royalties they deserve, I am sure I figure in the industries "piracy" figures. I am simply unable to buy the ebooks I want to read because of geographic restrictions and attempts to force consumers into formats which mean they don't own what they buy. I have spent whole evenings trying to buy ebooks legitimately but it simply is not possible for me to buy. I have been reduced to torrenting ebooks and simultaneously buying the books new in hardback so that I feel I have done all I can to pay the creator.
Dan Jones Says
A very well written column, my compliments.
And the last commenter by the name of Jeremy, clearly hasn't got a clue of what this article is all about. Have you actually read it, Jeremy? The EFF is there for you to protect your online freedom and liberty. The EFF is also here to write useful columns like this for us: the law abiding customer who actually still buys his DVDs and CDs. So for your information: the EFF does not complaint about digital progress, no, it actually encourages it.
Your literal words are: "The EFF has never created a movie that I've wanted to see or a song that I've wanted to hear. Their entire contribution to progress is a hyperbolic mess of complaints about every new technology and distribution method."
That already shows your ignorance and it's exactly those people that are the cause of all this industrial bullying of the people that carefully build their library of DVDs but can miss the crap and the law suits of the industry like herpes.
Anyway, all hail Fred von Lohmann for his perfectly written piece of comment on today's arrogance and complete disdain of Hollywood towards me, us, the DVD and CD buying customer that loves to embrace all the new gadgets, to actually copy my genuine collection to, so I can flip through them with just one remote, on my TV set, with my feet on the table and -god forbid- a Cuban cigar!
Dan Jones, Phoenix AZ
Jeremy Says
What on earth is "inferior" about digital copies? They are at least as good as iTunes versions, which FvL lauds earlier in his piece.
Please let me know when FvL offers an actual solution to something. I'm always struck by those commentators who produce absolutely nothing, except poop for the punchbowl. The EFF has never created a movie that I've wanted to see or a song that I've wanted to hear. Their entire contribution to progress is a hyperbolic mess of complaints about every new technology and distribution method.
Rekrul Says
You forgot to mention the movie industry pressuring the electronics industry into supporting region codes, which unfairly limit who can watch any given DVD.
Allison Keys Says
I know in the Midwest we do not get the movies that a "New York" or an "LA" would get, and if we do its in an art house for 2 weeks. And waiting a YEAR to see a movie is very unfeasible. So if Hollywoodland would wake up and realize there are more people on Earth, they wouldn't have such a "problem".
Clint Says
Not only those things you mentioned, but the DVD's themselves are becoming increasingly more annoying to watch. When I put a DVD in I have to endure minutes of crap, often with the buttons disabled so I cant skip it.
If I buy a DVD, I dont need to see a minute long sketch about movie piracy. I dont want to see the logos of every company that had anything to do with making or distributing the movie. I dont need to see a THX audio thing with cows. I dont need to see previews of other movies before watching the movie I actually want to watch. I also dont need to see a long video clip before it actualyl displays the menu.
My kids have a Dora the Explorer DVD that they like to watch. The first thing it does is stop and give a menu asking what language it should be in. This is a DVD for kids... how are they supposed to know. You should be able to put the disc in and let it go... after choosing the language then it informs us that if we want to skip the previews, to press the Menu button.... again... this is a movie for kids. Every time the kids put the movie in, I have to spend 10 minutes getting it to the point where they can actually watch the movie.
It annoyed me so much I spent a day ripping the actual video part off the disc and making a new DVD without all the crap and menus.
I dont mind buying dvd's for my kids, but honestly, it would have been far easier to have downloaded the movie instead.
Joe Born Says
Indeed well put. Some of these attacks are short sighted, but attacking the fans that make remixes that clearly don't impact revenue but expand on the work, that's just gratuitous.
I often quote your line from a CEA conference some years ago "I don't mind the copyright holders building fences, but I object when they lobby congress to outlaw the manufacture of ladders"
Dean Says
Well put. All anyone needs to do is look at the RIAA as an example of how badly these kinds of things can do.
The same year the RIAA was found GUILTY by the supreme courts of price fixing, music piracy skyrocketed. Now, almost a decade later, movie studios are experiencing the same thing with movie ticket prices and pirates.
Either work with the new technology, or get out of the way. Within 5 or 10 years when the next generation takes office, it'll all become legal anyway, so now is the time to adapt...