-> I have every right to walk into a Wal-Mart store and buy 10 Snow
-> Whites if I want to.  Do I not have that right?  Once I buy them,
-> they are MINE, to do with as I please.  If I choose to put them in a
-> box and leave them all sealed for 3 years, is that not my right?
Not true. You have the right to buy as many as you want but the
copyright stays with the original owner of it - not you. Some used books
stores have been closed down recently. WHY? Because they were selling
copyrighted materials without permission of the copyright owner.
When a used book or video are sold the copyright owner still has
rights to it yet they aren't getting paid. That's illegal. Making
money off of someone else's copyrighted work is both immoral and
illegal. You do not have the legal right to make money off of someone
else's copyrighted materials without their permission. The only reason
people get away with this is because it's too hard to track down. As
technology advances and things like this get easier to track down you
will see the law dealing more severely with people who violate these
laws.
If I buy 2000 copies of Windows 95, do I have a legal right to sell it
to other people? Not according to the packaging and NOT according to
copyright laws.
Video tapes and computer programs are sold for in-home (or in-office)
personal use. The copyright owner retains the rights to the program or
movie. You have no right to sell it to someone else without permission.
Try buying 200 copies of a video tape and then selling them on the
streets. The police will arrive, take away your videos and put you in
jail. You had no legal right to sell them. They were bought by you
according to the laws which say you can only by them for in-home
personal use. They expressly forbid resale. Read the copyright notices
and the copyright law and you will see that I am telling the absolute
truth.
For instance, I have a video tape of Walt Disney's "The Living Desert"
right here. The label says; "THE LIVING DESERT   WALT DISNEY HOME VIDEO
Color/69 Minutes/Duplicated in LP Mode G NTSC Standard     FBI WARNING!
Licensed for private home exhibition only. All other rights reserved.
Any public performance, copying, or other use is strictly prohibited.
Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for
unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted
motion pictures, videotapes or laserdiscs. Criminal copyright
infringement is investigated by the FBI and may constitute a felony with
a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
"Licensed for private home exhibition only. All other rights reserved.
Any public performance, copying, or other use is strictly prohibited.
Duplication in whole or part of this videocassette is prohibited.
Printed in the U.S.A. (C)The Walt Disney Company."
Now, what you are doing with these extra tapes is NOT private home
exhibition. So, first, your activities fit under the heading "other use"
which is "strictly prohibited". Secondly, you distribute them by selling
them to others, which falls under UNAUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTION for which
"Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalities..."
Like I said before, when you buy a video tape it gives you that right to
show it in your home. THAT'S IT. Nothing more. You don't have the right
to show it at work, lend it to others, make tape copies, sell it to
others or show it a daycare centers. You own the video tape but NOT the
movie. I suggest you stop trafficking in movies that you do not own.
--- ViaMAIL!/WC4 v1.20a
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