Valenti's "Boston Strangler" Testimony

Seth Schoen writes "'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 said this in 1982 in testimony to the House of Representatives on why the VCR should be illegal. He also called the VCR an "avalanche" and a "tidal wave", and said it would make the film industry "bleed and bleed and hemorrhage". This speech is an important part of history, yet until today it had never been published on-line in its entirety. Valenti's testimony was published today by Cryptome. It's essential background reading if you want to see just how little the MPAA's arguments have changed in two decades." Compare to the Analog Hole document and they're virtually identical (except Valenti was playing on anti-Japanese sentiment then, and today it's anti-pirate sentiment). Of course, the MPAA was unsuccessful in plugging the "VCR Hole" - insufficient lobbying and clueful judges stopped them. The MPAA successfully adapted to the changing times and today sells about 70 million cassettes for rentals and 600 million cassettes for home viewing every year (both numbers are on the decline due to the rise of DVD).

still no mention of ...

[Anonymous Coward]

... this CNN article [cnn.com] about a CD topping the charts despite "rampant piracy"

Mirror here

[medscaper]

http://12.225.182.52/valenti_mirror.htm

Thank goodness he set me straight!

[JoeWalsh]

Thank goodness this testimony became available. Through it, Jack Valenti was finally able to set me straight. Here's one of the truly remarkable things he said:

"I have spent most of my adult life in politics and you learn one thing. Nothing of value is free. "

Now I know I should erase Linux and FreeBSD from my company's servers and install Windows. Because, obviously, if I got something for free, it's worthless. And how can you base a business on something that's worthless?

Thank goodness he set me free. Amazing how prescient he proved to be way back in the early eighties.

Thanks, Jack!

-Joe

Re:Mirror here

[BlowCat]

Same with a clickable link [12.225.182.52]

Not Just the MPAA Either...

[irix]

I found it fascinating that not only the MPAA (Valenti) was testifying. The national association of theatre owners, the actors guild, people from television, actors, etc. etc. All against the VCR, and all so set in their ways that they couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Not a lawyer huh... And the music industry

[PK_ERTW]

I am not a lawyer; I beg to ask the forgiveness of all of you in the UCLA Law School. If I was smart enough maybe I would have been a lawyer and then I would feel more comfortable about presenting this case.

I like how right after this Valenti goes into some major legal-eese and quotes the constitution, duty of the congress, etc..

That and: But you will be hearing from the audio people on Wednesday, Mr. Chairman, and there is a business that is collapsing before our very eyes; $2 billion a year in stolen property.

Yeah, the RIAA sure did tank back in 81

PK

Re:Looks like he was wrong...

[BrookHarty]

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe, 101 Things To Do Until the Revolution

Arguing

[SeanAhern]

'Piracy' -- Copyright infringement is called just that, 'copyright infringement.' I suggest you stop someone when they use the word 'piracy' and ask them what boats on what ocean they are talking about. "Piracy" has no legal meaning and it only exists because 'copyright infringement' doesn't sound as bad. It's hard to argue with this fact.

Okay, I'll play the devil's advocate and argue with the "fact."

According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary [m-w.com], "piracy" has the following definition (emphasis mine):

Main Entry: piracy
Function: noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin piratia, from Late Greek peirateia, from Greek peiratEs pirate
Date: 1537
1 : an act of robbery on the high seas; also : an act resembling such robbery
2 : robbery on the high seas
3 : the unauthorized use of another's production, invention, or conception especially in infringement of a copyright

Re:Except they inserted copyright protection...

[Anonymous Coward]

Macrovision only works because the VCR industry crippled the VCRs so they couldn't record a signal with weakened sync pulses. Think about it for a minute: how come your television can accurately display the signal, but your VCR can't accurately record it? And of course, Macrovision can be defeated by simply using an RF modulator, the same one you use to connect your DVD player or game console to a television without S-video input.