At my high school there are tons of people who have spontaneously become obsessed with the movie "300". Someone (one of my friends) put the downloaded movie on the Student Server, and as I was talking to him about it, he claimed he legally bought it online from the site of the company that produced the movie. He says that since the movie was made with greenscreens and CG, that company has the rights to sell it as they wish.
Since he put the movie on a publicly accessed computer server, the 3800 some-odd students at my school all now have access to it and many have already downloaded it. Is this piracy? Or since my friend "bought" the movie, is it technically okay? If it's not okay and it IS piracy, what kind of consequences could he suffer for this?
2007-03-30 11:25:14 · 13 answers · asked by Miss Taylor 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Whoa, I'm not entirely sure you got what I'm doing here, whoever it was that called me a b*tch.
I'm not trying to turn my FRIEND in, I want to make sure he won't get in trouble for this. If something could potentially happen to him (like a fine or jail) I just want to make sure he knows what he's getting into...
So please don't judge me before you know my purpose in this. I asked this question out of curiosity, and you should respect that I'm not a "tattle-tale".
Thanks.
2007-03-30 11:32:58 · update #1
Yes it is illegal, no if and or buts; it is called piracy.
Any movie sold to the public has the FBI warning that if the movie is copied or put up for distribution then that is a crime. This warning should be included with the movie; if it is not then that movie is a pirate copy.
Normally the company that creates the movie gives up all rights to distribute the movie to the Production Company, which has sole responsibility and sole ability to distribute the movie. This is why a producer credit on a film is so valuable, because those who do get a share of the profit. Of course most of those people also give money to fund the movie in the first place. There are other assistants on the movie called production assistants, these are closer to interns and get paid a wage for doing the grunt work.
This all spelled out in the Millennium Copy Right Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Media_Consumers%27_Rights_Act
I KNOW that your friend committed an illegal act when he put the movie up for free distribution, and I am pretty sure that he got an illegal copy. Copies of a movie are never sold or distributed to the general public when they can compete with the movie in the theaters. Since The 300 is still showing in theaters I am about 90% sure that your friend's copy is illegal.
You need to tell him this and have him remove his copy from the school. If anyone finds out then the movie industry can sue him and his parents. They are pretty keen on this especially when it means they will lose a lot of money, like in this case.
If your friend ignores your warning then you can tell his parents who can compel him to remove it. You can also tell your school principle. Make sure to tell him that if he reports this crime to the police then it will cause his school problems and he doesn't want the FBI wandering through his records or computers.
After that point you have done what you should have done. Ideally you should contact the police or the FBI, but you are a minor and if you tell an adult like the principle then you have done your legal duty. Of course you are not a b_ _ ch, you are worried that your friend could get into major trouble and he can, very easily. The further the movie gets distributed the more chance for trouble.
Ask your friend, if they want to be responsible for having their parent's cars even their house taken in the law suit.? There is a small chance of this happening since the law suit is usually for damages, but if 3800 copies are distributed and the production company makes $5 of of each movie ticket then that is $19,000, most of the price of a new car.
2007-03-30 11:57:41 · answer #1 · answered by Dan S 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It is absolutely piracy. If you buy something from someone who had no right to sell it in the first place, it doesn't make it legal. The penalty for him? Nothing criminal, but he could get a few grand civil fine (not likely) if he is caught..
2007-03-30 11:28:47 · answer #2 · answered by jgain 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Under any circumstances, this is piracy. Implicit in his purchase is an agreement not to resell or redistribute. The entertainment industry has really been cracking down on this kind of thing, and your friend could be sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2007-03-30 11:32:00 · answer #3 · answered by vt500ascott 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Technically it is illegal as he was only paid for 1 copy but 3000 kids could have it, so the fim makers have lost out on thousands of pounds.
That's the legal answer, my opinion is who gives a ****, it is all over the net already anyway so if the kids don't get it from there they will just get it somewhere else.
Oh and he paid for it did he (bullshit)
2007-03-30 11:30:45 · answer #4 · answered by 139 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
piracy, and a fine up to a few thousand dollors...not sure of the exact amount though
2007-03-30 11:28:53 · answer #5 · answered by chaos knight 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yup! its piracy !! Fines and possible prison time !!
2007-03-30 11:31:04 · answer #6 · answered by AZRAEL 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
actually, i think that it isn't piracy what he has done, but what the other students have done. they cant just download it. they can be severly punished for doing that.
2007-03-30 11:28:49 · answer #7 · answered by Allie 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
it's piracy for anyone else to record it in any manner
2007-03-30 11:27:58 · answer #8 · answered by kapute2 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am not sure if its illegal or not but the fine is 20,000 per download....so ouch if you know what I mean!
2007-03-30 11:27:48 · answer #9 · answered by bsbchic_101 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes , this is piracy..
2007-03-30 11:28:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋