Jack Valenti: The Exit Interview

thecounterfeit writes "Engadget has an interview with Jack Valenti, the outgoing president of the MPAA and the object of hatred for many hacker after he took he on DVD Jon, who is retiring tomorrow after more than three decades on the job. Engadget could have been a little harder on him when he says stuff like, "When you go to your department store and you buy 10 Cognac glasses and two weeks later you break two of them, the store doesn't give you two backup copies," but it is at least slightly encouraging to hear that he owns a TiVo."

It comes down to cost for the backup...

[phaetonic (621542)]

Engadget could have been a little harder on him when he says stuff like, "When you go to your department store and you buy 10 Cognac glasses and two weeks later you break two of them, the store doesn't give you two backup copies,"

If there was a way to duplicate a cognac glass for 10 cents each, it'd be a different story.

Re:It comes down to cost for the backup...

[Ianoo (711633)]

The difference is that when you break the Cognac glasses, you don't automatically loose the Cognac...

Re:It comes down to cost for the backup...

[Phisbut (761268)]

What's funny though is that he contradicts himself at the same time :

When you go to your department store and you buy 10 Cognac glasses and two weeks later you break two of them, the store doesn't give you two backup copies. Where did this backup copy thing come from? A digital thing lasts forever (emphasis mine)

Exactly our point. What we bought is not the plastic disc, it's the digital thing. If the plastic disc breaks, we shouldn't need to buy a new digital thing, just a plastic disc. Just like if the cognac glass breaks, we don't need to buy new cognac, just a new glass.

Let me ask everyone here...

[ScottGant (642590)]

First, this is NOT meant as a flame at all. I would just like to know. Who here actually backs up their DVD's or CD's?

I ask this because I do not back up my media. Nor does my family. Nor does anyone in my wife's family. Nor does anyone I work with or even know. NO one I've met in "the real world" has backed up a DVD or CD. Ever! Sure, back when albums and tapes were the big thing I would make a tape of an album...but to listen to in my car really. But then again, they weren't really back-ups as the sound on analog tape was horrible compared to an album.

So I ask you, are there really people out there backing up all their media like this? By the way, I have kids, my wife's family also has many kids. So far, we haven't had anyone get a scratched DVD...not saying that we won't, but I guess we show the kids how to handle DVD's...not that it takes a genius to grasp the concept.

Re:Let me ask everyone here...

[AKnightCowboy (608632)]

Who here actually backs up their DVD's or CD's?

I do. When I used to buy CDs I would make a copy of it and keep the original at home. The copy went into a binder in my car. If my car was broken into then all I lose is the copies... and heaven forbid my house should burn down then I can still make copies from the ones in my car and have perfect copies of the originals. I bought a license to listen to the songs, not the physical media. If you believe I bought the physical media then I STILL have the right to make a backup copy of it in case it gets broken. This is codified in law, not just my crazy commie brain.

Re:Let me ask everyone here...

[by Anonymous Coward]

Happened to a friend of mine last week. She had her entire CD collection (yes, REAL store-bought CDs) in her car and it got broken into. Both the car (and of course, the CDs in the car) were stolen.

Now regardless of the fact that she probably shouldn't have left the CDs in the car, if she had made duplicates and used those in the car, she'd still have all her genuine CDs. I always have CDRs of my music in my car, because at $20-40/CD (imports), I would be royally choked if they got ripped-off.

But of course, the RIAA doesn't like that whole "backup" idea, after all the thief would then have a copy of the music as well as the legal owner, and that's just not right!

So they need to decide - if you're actually "licensing" the music, then you get the right to get replacement media AT COST as part of the license. If you're buying the media, then they can kiss their product goodbye after you've bought it.

Now, all that said, I could give a damn WHAT the RIAA or MPAA think because when I buy a CD or DVD or computer software, it's mine dammit, and I'm going to do whatever the hell I want to with it - and nothing they say or do will ever change that.

IOW: Is it "OWN it today" or "LICENSE it today"

[denis-The-menace (471988)]

This is the real Hippocratic issue:
If you "own it", as the adds say, then you can do what you please. Backup, copy, mix, etc. (minus making $ from copies)

If you actually "license it", then saying "Own it today" is false advertising. AND you should still be able to get replacement media.

The RIAA/MPAA/CRIA all want the same thing: The advantages from both and no disadvantages from either. Also, they want this to work on hardware that you paid for. This is just plain Greed and hypocrisy

Re:Let me ask everyone here...

[Sparr0 (451780)]

i dont back up, per se, all my media. but very often i will produce a 'compilation' disc of a multi-disc set that allows me to play without swapping discs. i put all 6 baldurs gate 2 cds on one dvd, but playing from it requires a "no cd" crack. and any media that has become badly damaged over time (i have games on cdrom that are over 8 years old that i still play) gets a definite backup, however its usually the backup that goes on the shelf in that case

Re:Let me ask everyone here...

[Zorilla (791636)]

While I wouldn't go out of my way to back up DVDs for home use, I would definitely back them up if I wanted to travel with them, leaving the valuable originals at home in case something happens to my bags. Also, being in the military, DVDs and desert winds don't mix...obviously. (Also learned Playstation 2 DVD trays break very easily in the desert. About 2/3 of the units people brought out broke.)

My point is that when you're deployed for 4-12 months, or even a couple years (I'm Air Force, thank goodness), you gotta have some movies to watch to kill time while on a 12 hour shift, but I'm not going to wreck original DVDs doing it.

I babied the CDs I brought with me to the desert. We weren't exactly roughing it, since we had tents with A/C. Even then the CDs came back a little scratched. The DVDs people brought got destroyed, mainly because they were being borrowed from each other.

Re:Let me ask everyone here...

[cozziewozzie (344246)]

I have most of my (legally purchased) CDs ripped into high quality MP3s for listening on my laptop. It's a lot more convenient than changing CDs all the time. It is also safe in the case my CDs get damaged, which has happened in the past.

Re:Let me ask everyone here...

[werwerf (85238)]

I do.

I have backup copies of my CDs to carry on the car. That way, I do not put in danger originals buy scratching them on the car.

I have even downloaded albums that I had on CDs that were too scrached to be used.
So I think we, the customers, should be entitled to make backup copies of digital content, or at least, get back what we payed for (the content, not the media).

I fact, one of my colleagues has asked me for my original copy of a PS2 game that he bought for his kid (so damaged as not being usable)...

---
there was a SIG here.
it is gone now.
(Quiz: Where does my SIG comes from?)

No kids I presume?

[spectrokid (660550)]

I buy VERY EXPENSIVE CD's with music for my kids. They take them out of the CD player, put them on the floor, walk on them and the next time they play them it's experimental rap music, not Disney songs. No backup = dead within a week.

Depends on the child I suppose...

[Chordonblue (585047)]

My son is functionally autistic. Sometimes he gets a *little* excited about playing his games and forgets. I wish I could back up his Gamecube games because they somewhat fragile and easily scratched.

We were sticking with the SNES (cartridges are harder to damage), but even at 5 years old he could tell the difference between Super Mario World and Sunshine. (He beat Sunshine last week!) :)

Re:Let me ask everyone here...

[hetairoi (63927)]

piracy is a huge problem

no, healthcare is a huge problem, starvation is a huge problem, genocide is a huge problem, education is a huge problem, violence against women is a huge problem, violence in the middle east is a huge problem ...

piracy is, for the most part, the concern of a super rich few. There are better things to be concerned about than wether or not Jack Valenti will be able to afford another house because some college student downloaded a movie.

I don't pirate movies or songs either and I don't condone those actions, but Jack is just a rich guy trying to get richer by manipulating laws, plain and simple. If you drop the price to a reasonable level, the black market will disappear.

Re:It comes down to cost for the backup...

[dj245 (732906)]

The **IA's aren't selling you cognac glasses, they are letting you borrow a cognac glass and selling you a license to use it. You can't let a friend borrow it, and you can't make a wax model of it. Would it not be fair to give you another if you break it, since you paid for the license, not the glass?

Either they are selling the CDs, or they are selling licenses, they can't have it both ways.

Re:It comes down to cost for the backup...

[DMNT (754837)]

I'd compare that he's saying "If you break your cognac glass, you no longer can drink cognac. Go ahead and buy new glass and a bottle."

I believe I'm allowed to finish my cognac from my other (non-cognac) glasses in case I happen to break the original 500 crystal glass.

MPAA sells you a physical copy and the digital material on it. When you break one, you've bought physical copy that now has to be replaced. It's no longer the digital material you thought you bought. When you copy the digital material, it's all of sudden the digital material that you've bought and now you're stealing it. Heads - MPAA wins, tails - you lose.

Wha?

[by Anonymous Coward]

DVD Jon is retiring?

Re:Wha?

[pjt33 (739471)]

I'm more disturbed by the claim that he's been on the job for three decades. I thought he was only about 20.

Jack Quote

[Famatra (669740)]

"When you go to your department store and you buy 10 Cognac glasses and two weeks later you break two of them, the store doesn't give you two backup copies"

Since CDs can stop working with a small scratch, unlike Cognac glasses, and the studios prevent back ups then they are the ones to replace it. Give us the ability to back up our software, Jack, and we won't need to bother you about replacements.

Re:Jack Quote

[Lord Kano (13027)]

Give us the ability to back up our software, Jack, and we won't need to bother you about replacements.

We have that ability, stop trying to put us in jail for using it.

LK

Jack Valenti: Certified Dumbass

[benjamindees (441808)]

Here's the (much more amusing) full quote (emphasis mine):

What would you say to a mom who wants to make a backup of her kids? DVD movies?

When you go to your department store and you buy 10 Cognac glasses and two weeks later you break two of them, the store doesn?t give you two backup copies. Where did this backup copy thing come from? A digital thing lasts forever.

Re:Jack Valenti: Certified Dumbass

[zoeblade (600058)]

A digital thing lasts forever.

Jack Valenti's almost right, yet missing the point entirely. A digital thing will last forever if it can leave the shackles of whatever physical medium it's stored on. If you have two copies, and only one of them is likely to get destroyed at any given time (say, you've copied a CD to a friend with the explicit orders that ey can't listen to it because that would be illegal, just to have an off-site backup), then you'll always have a perfect copy.

But being able to copy and manage the data better is the only advantage digital media have over their analogue counterparts. If you take away the rights to copy them, there is no point in using digital media in the first place.

Re:Jack Quote

[by Anonymous Coward]

Give us the ability to back up our software, Jack, and we won't need to bother you about replacements.

This is entirely the wrong attitude. They don't have to give us the ability to back things up, they need to stop taking the ability away from us!

CDs/Movies are not cognac glasses...

[rdean400 (322321)]

...but the cognac glass maker should not prevent me from making my own cognac glasses in case the ones I purchased from them break.

Difference between DVDs and cognac glasses

[Colonel Cholling (715787)]

If I buy a set of cognac glasses and then move to Belgium, I don't have to buy a special set of Belgian cognac glasses.

When I buy a set of cognac glasses, they'll work with any brand of cognac, even cognac my friends and I made as part of a giant collaborative project.

If I buy cognac glasses and decide to drink milk out of them, the manufacturer won't accuse me of violating the licensing agreement.

If I build exact replicas of the cognac glasses using my own materials, and then give these replicas away, I won't get sued by the Glassblowing Industry Association of America.

If I sell the cognac glasses at a second-hand store, the aforementioned GIAA won't accuse me of stealing profits away from the original cognac-glass-makers, or claim that I probably made an illegal copy of them before I sold them.

I don't have to pay higher prices on glassblowing supplies on the assumption that I'll probably use them to make illegal copies of cognac glasses.

And the #1 difference between DVDs and cognac glasses:

The cognac glass actually contains something I might enjoy.

Great Grammar There.

[CBNobi (141146)]

Did Slashdot really receive only one submission for this story? It's really a horrible selection to put on the front page, given its horrible grammar.

Engadget has an interview with Jack Valenti, the outgoing president of the MPAA and the object of hatred for many hacker after he took he on DVD Jon, who is retiring tomorrow after more than three decades on the job.

He took he? On DVD Jon, who is retiring tomorrow?

when he says stuff like

Yeah, shame on Engadget, and stuff.

but it is at least slightly encouraging to hear that he owns a TiVo.

This is similar to the MS Security Manager running Firefox [slashdot.org] news bit. Because Jack Valenti owns and enjoys a TiVo, means he condones all aspects of the technology? No, it's more likely Jack Valenti likes to use a TiVo as a new-fangled VCR.

Let's see what Google turned up [hollywoodreporter.com]:

"The MPAA, NFL and other sports leagues attempted to convince the agency that the devices pose a threat to copyrighted works and could be used to broadcast games where they are blacked out. FCC commissioners disagreed, finding that the fears were unfounded. MPAA chief Jack Valenti, who will step down next month, personally lobbied all five commissioners, FCC sources said."

It cuts both ways...

[SlashDread (38969)]

-If- I bought a license to the music, it is not "destroyed" by scratching the disk. -If- I bought the media, I can do with its fysical properties what I like. Like copying.

Make up your mind Jack.

"/Dread"

Re:It cuts both ways...

[Dun Malg (230075)]

I'm talking about why people believe to some degree that the industry directly owes them another copy when the original(s) is destroyed by mishap or wear.

Nobody thinks they are owed a FREE copy. It's a matter of what, exactly, the $15 they paid originally gets them. Is it $1 for the media and $14 for the license that allows you one copy? If so, then if you damage your copy, does not that $14 license entitle you to a replacement media for $1? Or if it's $14 for the media and $1 for the license, can I burn myself five extra copies and send them $1 for each as license payment? They try to position it as being, at the same time, both and neither. They claim the $15 is just for the license when you try to make copies, but then they later claim the $15 is for the media when you want a replacement for a scratched disc. They can't logically have it both ways, but they've successfully lobbied to get the law to say they can have their cake and eat it too.

Jack Valenti is a liar!

[nattt (568106)]

LIE: "Where did this backup copy thing come from? A digital thing lasts forever."

No it doesn't. CDs rust because of manufacturing defects. DVDs scratch so easily you'd think they were designed to need replacing if the kids get hold of them! Jack's comment is like saying that insurance is unnecessary because houses don't burn down. Software manufacturers will replaced damaged media for a nominal fee. The DVD manufacturers could make the "you don't need a backup" line a reality if they offered $1 replacements for damaged DVDs and $0.50 replacements for CDs that get damaged, and indeed, there should be a legal mandate for them to do so upon production of a scratched original. They could handle it through the record stores - bring in your old CD or DVD, hand over your dollar, and get a bright new shining one. That would make consumers happy about buying such fragile media. At that point, however, they would not be able to say - sorry, run out of copies. They would have to make more copies rapidly if more people come back. This should also last as long as the copyright lasts upon the programme material + 50, just in case. Ofcourse, if you don't copyright it and give it to the public domain, you don't have to supply backups - now that's fair.

LIE "But I visited the labs at Caltech, and they're running an experiment called FAST where they can bring down a DVD-quality movie in 5 seconds. " what's that - about 1GB per second?? Anyone know a hard drive that fast and affordable for my edit suite??? Sure cache it in RAM first..... Seriously Jack...

LIE "There is no fair use to take something that doesn't belong to you. That's not fair use..... Now, fair use is not in the law." It's fair that we get screwed by the MPAA, but not fair when every TV advert for every movie I've ever seen says "own it on DVD" - for emphasis "OWN IT". If I own it, whatever I do with it is fair. If I own it I don't have a right to a free or very cheap replacement of the media. I know I don't own software as it's licenced. But I must own the DVD as you told me - it can't be licenced. Now which way do you want it Jack. If I own it, I'll do whatever the hell I like with it.

LIE "So there are no restrictions that Hollywood wants to place on what people can do with media on their computers?

Well, I can't tell you that. We have to see what the technology can provide." So what you're really saying Jack is that you want Linux and open source OSs illegal, everyone to buy Microsoft and have computers so restricted that they're practically games and entertainment consoles. Jack - you're such a hypocrite.

Re:Jack Valenti is a liar!

[CrimsonAvenger (580665)]

"There is no fair use to take something that doesn't belong to you. That's not fair use..... Now, fair use is not in the law."

Actually, Fair Use IS in the law. Title 17, Section 107:

Sec. 107. - Limitations on exclusive rights:
Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors

Re:Jack Valenti is a liar!

[Tim C (15259)]

I don't think I've ever seen a "rusted" CD...

I have a number of CD-Rs from a few years ago that are discoloured in the extreme; a few of them I ditched, as they were indeed unusable.

I don't suppose it's rust, but it's certainly a degradation of the materials involved. I don't recall seeing such degradation on any comercially-produced, pressed CDs, though.

Re:Jack Valenti is a liar!

[gfxguy (98788)]

Surely you can see the difficulties associated with such a system. First of all, you want the media companies to give you replacements on a $20 DVD or a $15 CD until the end of time? Really now. What should they do if the particular DVD you want replaced is rare and out-of-print?

But that's the point, isn't it? If we could make our own, it would be a problem. Adding draconian copyright law into the equation was an interesting touch... if they claim to hold the copyright then they should have copies available for sale. As soon as they decide to stop manufacturing, they should forfit the copyright.

That may sound draconian on my part, but in this age of on-demand CDs, surely they can make me a new copy of "Song of the South"** without requiring a new production run...

The problem with my suggestion is they can suddenly declare "OK, it's now in the public domain", but everyone's copy is copy-restricted.

Here's an idea. YOU could make the backups (which you CAN do) yourself.

I can? Legally? How? Tell me what software I can buy that will allow me to create a playable duplicate? Oh, wait... selling a product that bypasses copyright protection is illegal...

So you're saying, because I'm reading slashdot, I'm probably nerdy enough to be able to do it myself... that may be true, but it's not true in general. It doesn't apply when my Dad calls asking if it's possible, or my sister calls and asks if it's possible...

** Yes, I mention "Song of the South" for a reason.

Missing the point on the cognac there

[thrill12 (711899)]

I guess he is clearly missing the point with that cognac glasses example:
it's not the glas that matter but the contents of the glass!
I buy a glas of cognac because I want cognac, I get the glas with the cognac - not the other way round.
Now my glass breaks - this can happen. No big deal however, because I poured a bit of cognac into another glas beforehand so I can still taste it's fine taste.

(replace "glass" with CD/DVD and "cognac" with movie/music in case you didn't get it)
I guess those people really don't want to see the reality...

Those all powerful Cognac glasses...

[Gelfman (802827)]

...have inspired me to share other excerpts from Valenti's Bumper Christmas Compendium of Crap Analogies...

• Well, you see, it's like a duck sitting in the forest. If you feed it some kibble and two weeks later it vomits all over a tree, you don't expect to be able to send the cleaning bill to Cher, now do you?
• Take my Auntie Scarface as an example - she likes to eat her CDs proclaiming them to be an excellent alternative to coconut macaroons. Now who'd want to back up a macaroon (must...suppress...foul...image)?
• How many times? Digital data can only be handled by an expert wearing a grade 3 frock and wielding a polo mallet and you'd look pretty silly in those so you shouldn't do it.

Boston stangler

[bathmann (797470)]

Jack, you'll forever be in our hearts for your priceless quotes.

"I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone."

Jack Valenti, 1982 click me [edgecity.net]

Another Quotable from Valenti

[spiffturk (266880)]

From the page the parent linked to:

[Valenti]:The average number of cassettes per household -- this is fascinating -- Mrs. Schroeder, was 27.7, 28 cassettes. Now, if you are just time shifting, all you are doing is you are away from home and you are taping something and you come back and you watch the commercial, then you time shift, you don't need 28 cassettes. You need one cassette or at the most two. Why do you have 28? Why? Because of the next line. Seventy-five percent have a permanent collection. My own home, we do it in our on home. I know about that. Anybody that has a VCR, talk to them, and I ask you to use your own commonsense, Mr. Chairman, Mrs. Schroeder, Mr. Railsback, just think of you as human beings. If you had the power to sit on a playback of a recording and you could wipe out the commercials or not wipe out the commercials, what would you do? You would do exactly what you said, sir. That is terrific. Of course. We all do it.

But when you do it, you strip away the reason for free television. Now, let me --

Mr. KASTENMEIER. Jack, let me ask you. Do you consider yourself and your family infringers when you engage in that practice?

Mr. VALENTI. I consider myself and my family believing what the plaintiffs in this lawsuit said and they said publicly, they have said it to the press, they have said it to the lawyers, they have said it to the courts. They do not intend to file any actions against homeowners now or in the future. I mean, that is obvious and they have said that publicly, Mr. Chairman, so I believe them. As far as I am concerned, I am going to continue taping because the plaintiffs have said they aren't going to do anything to me. I am not committing any crime. They know that.

Mr. KASTENMEIER. That wasn't my question.

Mr. VALENTI. Do I consider myself an infringer?

Mr. KASTENMEIER. When you engage in such practice.

Mr. VALENTI. Yes, sir, I do. I am taking somebody else's copyrighted material without their consent and I know damn well I am infringing. But as far as court action or anything else, I am safe. First, it is not a criminal act. Again, the opposition would tell you video, police, and criminals. They show an astonishing lack of the copyright law. They know good and well that that is not a criminal infringement unless you do it for profit. But on the other hand the plaintiffs have said they are moving against anybody in the homes. There is no problem, but 1 know and everybody else knows they are infringing.

Beautiful.

--
Will

Reverse Ageism

[mikaere (748605)]

Having read TFA, it's quite clear to me that the industry is dominated by crusty old men (COM). Whilst they are reasonably happy to tolerate Baby Boomers (let's face it, BBs have created lots of wealth for COMs), they are not particularly happy about the surly behaviour of Generations X & Y. And why is that ? Many of us have an inherent distrust of their abuse of intellectual property. There is exactly ONE solution to the "problem" of copyright circumvention. Namely, make *everything digital* so utterly accessible (i.e cheap & easy to download) so that it's just not worth the effort to pirate it. Most digital "content" falls into the category of luxury (i.e it's nices to have rather then essential). Standard economic theory stresses that luxuries have a very elastic demand curve. i.e. you lower the price and sales volumes increase massively. Result: low price (i.e. $1/CD or $2.50/DVD) = huge sales and bugger all piracy.

Such classic ignorance

[davek (18465)]

Ah, this is classic! An old man's uninformed belief that somehow we can protect people from thinking!

"I really do believe we can stuff enough algorithms in a movie that only the dedicated hackers can spend the time and effort to try to plumb through those 1,000 algorithms to try to find a way to beat it."

Re-he-he-heally. Don't you realize that once ONE person breaks it (out of, oh, maybe, 3 billion hackers worldwide), then you've got the raw data, which you can copy directly to whatever and whomever you want. This is some sort of religious belief in encryption and obfuscation that is not shared by anyone who knows anything about scientific computing. CSS was broken, AES, DES, RCA, VHS, MP3, GTFO, and WTF have all been broken. And guess what? The future ones will be too!

Find a new path.

-Dave

VCRs

[zoeblade (600058)]

From the interview:

I have a TiVo set. I truly enjoy it.

Seems to have changed eir tune since the 1982 Betamax testimony [quintessenz.org]:

You are sitting in your home in your easy chair and here comes the commercial and it is right in the middle of a Clint Eastwood film and you don't want to be interrupted. So, what do you do? You pop this beta scan and a 1-minute commercial disappears in 2 seconds... If you are watching a Clint Eastwood film it is the most cheerful thing you can do. However, if you are an advertiser who has paid $280,000 a minute to advertise, he feels a very large pain in his stomach as well as in his checkbook because it destroys the reason for free television, the erasure, the blotting out, the fast forwarding, the visual searching, the variable beta scans. The technology is there and I am one who has a belief that before the next few years the Japanese will have built into their machines an automatic situation that kills the commercial... I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.

Re:VCRs

[MarcQuadra (129430)]

The funny thing is that cable TV was originally commercial-free, you PAID to not watch advertisements. I remember those days faintly, one of my neighbors had cable and it was quite a hoot at cookouts and block parties.

Somehow cable became so common and people became so passive that cable now has just as much advertising as broadcast, and the quality of the ads and programming is generally lower on cable.

So now we pay the content providers to watch the content, and the advertisers pay them to slip us ads. We even get advertised to when paying the ultimate in high-prices at the theaters. I think that in a decade's time you'll see movies with one or two commercial-filled 'intermissions' under the pretense of letting elderly folks use the potty. Just watch.

Fair Use IS in the law.

[abiggerhammer (753022)]

Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107 [cornell.edu]. It's in the US Copyright Code.

"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

Reference is also made to "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes" -- to which "remix[ing] a few seconds of a Hollywood movie into a home movie project" certainly applies, and argument could be made that that remixing constitutes criticism, comment, or even teaching (video editing is a skill, too).

Between Valenti making claims like these, and the American Library Association going head-to-head [wired.com] with the Business Software Alliance to combat their misinformation about copyright, I have to wonder whether these guys realise the long-term damage they're doing to their reputations, since eventually, the truth will out.

Anyway, the law exists, just in case anyone was wondering. Kthxbye.

TiVo - for them, not for you

[ari_j (90255)]

It's not encouraging at all that he has and enjoys a TiVo. Most of the strongest anti-gun pundits have guns of their own, and many have concealed-weapon permits. You're failing to grasp the underlying concept: they want to have all the rights, and leave you with none. The same thing applies here. You can't oppress people if they're in the same caste as you.

A quote...

[Decameron81 (628548)]

When you go to your department store and you buy 10 Cognac glasses and two weeks later you break two of them, the store doesn't give you two backup copies. Where did this backup copy thing come from? A digital thing lasts forever.

A digital thing lasts forever???

Maybe after 10 cognac glasses...

On the Cognac glass thing...

[59Bassman (749855)]

If I were to buy 10 Cognac glasses and 2 broke, look at the options I have:

1) I can take one of the remaining glasses to a friend who is a hobbyist glass blower and see if he can make one for me free of charge (assuming the glass design is trademarked)
2) I can get my own Cognac glass blowing setup and make an myself a new matching glass once I've aquired the skills and materials.
3) After making one or two for myself, I can crank out a whole bunch for my friends free of charge as Christmas presents, anniversary gifts, or wedding presents.
4) I can take detailed measurements of the glasses, bring them to a glass factory, and have them turn out duplicates for me (legal or not, this happens ALL OF THE TIME in industry) so that I can avoid the high costs of buying from the original manufacturer.
5) I can throw a Cognac party for as many people I want, and allow those folks to view and use my legally purchased Cognac glasses without fear of reprocussion.

Now, which of these options are available to me to do legally with CDs or DVDs?

He doesn't believe tech can beat the pirates.

[zerofoo (262795)]

I really do believe we can stuff enough algorithms in a movie that only the dedicated hackers can spend the time and effort to try to plumb through those 1,000 algorithms to try to find a way to beat it.

Here's the problem with that opinion - it only takes ONE hacker to beat the "algorithms". How long do you really think it will take 10,000 hackers all over the world to beat these "algorithms"?

Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it's really hard to put it back in.

The "zero tolerance" stance on piracy will never work. Make it difficult for large scale pirates (guys mass producing pirated DVDs all over Asia) by involving local law enforcement. Suing Joe Consumer for copying the latest Soprano's DVD is bad for business and just plain stupid.

-ted

Who asked to be given backup copies ?

[dewdrops (79519)]

No one ever asked movie companies to give out free backup copies. What we want is to not get sued or put in jail if we copy a DVD, or rip it to an mp4 on our laptop to take on vacation, or do any number of things with the DVD we just bought.

Bascially, we'd like to be treated the same as when we buy a set of glasses: once, we've bought it, we can do anything we want with it. Glassmakers don't try to have people put in jail for post articles on how to blow glass [glassnotes.com].

Valenti is a Jackass

[Thomas Hawk (796343)]

Look, either you are selling content or you are selling physical goods -- you cannot have your cake and eat it too. When you buy a DVD you are buying content. The DVD is merely the delivery vehicle for the content. If I buy a tune from itunes and then burn it to my CD and it breaks, should I then also not be able to re burn it? It infuriates me that people like Jack Valenti have no problem gouging the public with expensive dvds and then when the medium is no longer useable try to compare it to a pair of cognac glasses. On Thursday night someone broke the window of my car at the West Oakland BART station and in addition to stealing the dvd player in the car stole all of my kids dvds -- about 20 of them which were hidden in the glove compartment. They stole the dvd player even though I had taken the face plate off and it is essentially worthless to them without it. Now Vallenti wants to tell me that I'm SOL and why don't I just go out and drop another $500 buying my content all over again -- and he has the audacity to speak about a "moral imperative."?! This guy is classic. How about this Jack. How about I just download everything I want for free and use any resource I have to avoid ever paying for another dvd for the rest of my life. How about I just copy everything to my PC and burn it to dvd for play in my car in the future and don't give you or your friends another god-damn dime. There is a reason that you are portrayed as a "villian" in cyberspace. And while you may have a modicum of power based on your previous position with the MPAA, the tide is turning and things like you opening your mouth and saying really stupid things will ony bring about both grass roots political change and technological pirating tools faster. You, my friend, are a hypocrite -- someone who talks about the value being the content one day and the form the very next.

Re:When you go to the department store...

[Ath (643782)]

Don't forget that if you plan to use the Cognac glasses in a restaurant or other public place, you have to buy a special version of those glasses. They are the same, but you have to pay for the right to use them in public.

Also, those Cognac glasses are only for a certain kind of Cognac. You are not allowed to use them to drink unlicensed brands of Cognac. And don't even think about putting anything else in them. Want to drink water out of them? If we catch you, we will sue you.

Valenti is an idiot. He almost single-handedly killed the entertainment industry with his crusade against VCRs (a technology that actually saved the industry). I cannot figure out why the industry even pays him lip service because he is a moron. Oh, he doesn't mind technology so long as it has all the controls in place he wants and it is illegal to change those controls.

Re:Sure it's stealing.

[kahei (466208)]

By the letter of the law, my using Bittorrent to download the latest Adam Sandler flick is stealing.

NO. IT IS COPYRIGHT VIOLATION.

EVERY time a story like this comes along a THOUSAND brave volunteers leap up and point out the difference between intellectual and physical property laws, and STILL there remains this hard core that simply cannot Get It.

If you're going to talk about the 'letter of the law', shouldn't you read at least a brief overview of said law first?

Yet, hope is eternal and so on this day I do my part in the eternal struggle, by saying again in a loud, clear voice:

It is not STEALING but COPYRIGHT VIOLATION. Not the THEFT of MATERIAL PROPERTY but the UNLICENSED DUPLICATION of INFORMATION.

You have been brainwashed

[Pan T. Hose (707794)]

When you buy a DVD you are buying the media AND the right to watch it. [emphasis added]

You have been apparently indoctrinated with a great success, but the fact is that you don't need any special "right to watch" a movie, like you don't need any "right to read [gnu.org]" a book, at least not yet. The only thing that the copyright law regulates is the right to publish and distribute, not any magical "right to see" which would somehow make illegal the very act of merely looking at publicly available things, which would be completely ridiculous. Please do not spread the FUD. The scums like Jack Valenti want us to think that way, but it does's make it true. Please try to keep that in mind. This is actually extremely important because if all of people think like yourself, then no one will protest when corporations finally put it into law, because everyone will think it has always been that way, which is simply not true. I wouldn't have even answered to this post but it was moderated as Score:5, Insightful so apparently there are more misinformed people here.