Legality of selling "older" VHS to DVD films.

[Hugh Jampton]

What with the BBC actively encouraging viewers and listeners who have copies of the Archers and Dad's Army and Dr Who to let the BBC make copies I reckon that anybody who is prepared to put the work in to archive the massive amount of Brit Porn that only exists on VHS ( which will degrade over time ) onto a more resilient format like DVD should be encouraged, not villified.

BTW Can I get a copy of the Stacey DVD?

[DJ Shagpile]

Why not approach the company who own the copyright and offer them a royalty on the DVD's you sell?

Perhaps too much hassle for them to do it but they might welcome a reasonable offer that costs them nothing. Win win for them.

[mart]

Read recently that of over 600 episodes made, 108 from the Hartnell & Troughton eras are lost.

Mart

[eroticartist]

I have a lot of Golden Oldies copyrights but the quality when digitalised is not so good. Therefore copies will become rare, I reckon. Unless technologoly improves I wont re-release them.

Mike Freeman

[muswell]

Judging by the replies the answer to the original question should be a simple "don't know" from those that replied as none of the guesses would be very helpful in court.
Whether anything is or is not copyright and what use non copyright holders can make of materials is something which fuels and funds an army of Lawyers in the film and music industries as there are no simple answers.
It would however be as well to remember that breach of copyright is a criminal as well as civil offence, hence the possibility of jail time. Also re-issuing VHS titles on DVD would require them to be re-certificated (not possible unless you are the rights holder) which opens a whole new set of problems.

[kevboy]

Best you can do is to try to find the copyright holder and to do a deal.

Please note the fact that you try to find them but are unsuccessful, does not form a defence from the very serious crime of copyright infringement.

muswell wrote:

> Judging by the replies the answer to the original question
> should be a simple "don't know" from those that replied as none
> of the guesses would be very helpful in court.
> Whether anything is or is not copyright and what use non
> copyright holders can make of materials is something which
> fuels and funds an army of Lawyers in the film and music
> industries as there are no simple answers.
> It would however be as well to remember that breach of
> copyright is a criminal as well as civil offence, hence the
> possibility of jail time. Also re-issuing VHS titles on DVD
> would require them to be re-certificated (not possible unless
> you are the rights holder) which opens a whole new set of
> problems.
>
>