Bill Nye the Science Guy DVDs - Rentable?
- January 3, 2006 @ 6:17pmjhamilton says:Hello - I purchased the entire set of Bill Nye the Science Guy DVDs from Disney Educational and have just started renting them out on Ebay and elsewhere. Folks have really enjoyed having the product made available since typically Disney markets only to schools and charges $3300 for the entire set. I was recently informed that I may be violating their copyright by renting these DVDs.
Here is the written copyright
COPYRIGHTS
Disney videocassettes are protected by copyright and other laws, and all rights thereunder are reserved by the copyright owner. Disney videos sold in this catalog may be shown by nonprofit educational institutions (or their equivalents) for face-to-face instructional purposes. Purchase of videos also includes a license for transmission or broadcast within a single building or school campus, and for showing in connection with other nonteaching school-related activities, as long as no admission fee is charged. Transmission or broadcasting into or beyond a school campus or its equivalent is strictly prohibited unless separately authorized by Disney. All other rights reserved. Any copying or other unauthorized showing, broadcast, or transmission or other use is strictly prohibited.
And here is a recent email I received from someone claiming to be a Disney representative:
You are not allowed to place "rental" auctions for DVDs. That is unauthorized use of copyrighted material. It is a violation of copyright law.
Some people mistakenly believe that because Netflix and Blockbuster do it, they can as well. That is incorrect. Netflix and Blockbuster can release certain APPROVED DVDs with the copyright holder's permission for a fee. A portion of that rental fee is then paid back to the copyright holder, ie: Disney, etc. So, for example Netflix or Blockbuster is allowed to rent certain DVDs with Disney's permission such as certain cartoons, etc. A portion of every rental fee that customer pays is then paid back to Disney in the form of a royalty. YOU ARE NOT DOING THAT. You are leasing DVDs and profiting from someone else's intellectual property without their permission and not paying any royalties. That is a form of copyright theft and is illegal.
In addition, Disney does not want the Bill Nye collection available for rent. That is why you don't see Bill Nye DVDs for rent at Netflix, Blockbuster, etc. They want to preserve the value of their property. You are interfering with that. You are also interfering with Disney's sales. Everything you are doing with these DVDs is llegal.
You may also face criminal prosecution.
The only legal thing you can do with Bill Nye DVDs is sell them. That is all. To reiterate, any form of renting those DVDs from anyone is not allowed and is illegal.
...
So, am I in fact violating their copyright by renting the DVDs that I purchased and if so, in what way am I violating it? If I required renters to comply with the written copyright stipulations, am I still in violation?
Thanks,
Jon - January 4, 2006 @ 3:19pmJMiller says:It sounds like you are indeed violating Disney's copyright. By renting the DVDs (and presumably earning some profit from this), you are not complying with the copyright notice. Most DVDs and videos that I've rented or purchased have specific warnings that the material is for private, non-profit, (etc.) use. Disney's own copyright statement (that you copied, above) specifically states what you can do with the DVD that you purchased. If you are renting them out, you are not within their limitations that you "agreed" to when you purchased and opened the DVDs.
This is my opinion. I hope it helps.
-JMiller - January 4, 2006 @ 3:33pmJMiller says:To clarify, accoring to the US Copyright Law (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci), the copyright owner of a work has the exclusive rights (including the right to authorize others) "to distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending."
Of course there are exceptions for fair use and libraries/archives (and a few others), but it doesn't sound like your use falls under those.
-JMiller - January 4, 2006 @ 5:55pmjhamilton says:Thanks for your input. I thought the copyright applied to the end user and how the content can be presented. It doesn't seem to specify things like selling or renting the DVDs.
Most DVDs have specify they are for private home-use,etc but that doesn't stop Blockbuster or Netflix from renting them. They are passing the DVDs along to the consumer who must then comply with the copyright by not copying it, not showing it to a public audience and charge a fee, etc.
I asked Disney Educational who I purchased the DVDs from and they responded with the following:
Yes, you are able to "loan" your DVD's to people that you know and charge them a fee to "borrow" them, essentially renting them.
That is not illegal.
The phrasing seems very "specific" above. I can "loan" the DVDs and charge people a small fee to borrow them. Can someone explain why they used this particular wording? - January 5, 2006 @ 7:21amCOvalle says:I'm not sure about this one- I actually believe the reported Disney representative is incorrect. By copyright law, you should be able to do just about whatever you'd like with your original material- by the doctrine of first sale. You can't make copies and circulate the copies without the copyright holder's permission, but you should be able to do so with the originals. I believe the Circular referenced above is referring to copies.
The problem here isn't copyright law. It's their copyright license. If the license that you purchased it with says that you can't rent them, then they have grounds to sue you. That doesn't mean that they are correct, or that the license is enforceable or valid- but it does give them a way to take action against you. They may or may not win, but it's the threat that is worrisome.
[quote]Thanks for your input. I thought the copyright applied to the end user and how the content can be presented. It doesn't seem to specify things like selling or renting the DVDs.
Most DVDs have specify they are for private home-use,etc but that doesn't stop Blockbuster or Netflix from renting them. They are passing the DVDs along to the consumer who must then comply with the copyright by not copying it, not showing it to a public audience and charge a fee, etc.
I asked Disney Educational who I purchased the DVDs from and they responded with the following:
Yes, you are able to "loan" your DVD's to people that you know and charge them a fee to "borrow" them, essentially renting them.
That is not illegal.
The phrasing seems very "specific" above. I can "loan" the DVDs and charge people a small fee to borrow them. Can someone explain why they used this particular wording?[/quote] - January 6, 2006 @ 4:40pmjhamilton says:You may be right....the so-called Disney representative used a "gmail" account and never replied to me when I asked him for additional information, a valid Disney address, and a phone number. Think i will continue renting/loaning them out until further notice..... Thanks!
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