I’m curious. It is not available on DVD, I understand that they is an ongoing squabble between 20th Century and Warner Brothers. Ok I can grasp that.
But then I found this: Batman on DVD.
Hmmmm…my question is, is this legal?
But the movie, based on the 66 TV show, is out.
Yes, I own that.
What amuses me is that even if the boxed set was $100 I’d buy it. Don’t those 2 chuckle-headed companies realize that they are arguing about my childhood!?
You’d think there would be enough profit for everyone to be happy.
I checked that site’s FAQ, and found this:
:dubious: I’m skeptical. Can anyone provide the straight dope on this?
“The Berne Act”? Sounds like a cheap knockoff of The Bourne Act.
Post #3 in this thread seems to have some good information. It looks like many sites use identical language. If this poster is correct, there is no “Berne Act” and the sites are operating outside of copyright law.
If you have The Hub (channel 294 on DirecTV), set your DVR for Monday-Thursday at 11:30 PM eastern…
These being the Bat-Channel and Bat-Time, respectively?
Yes. Bat-294, 11:30 p.m. BDT
Well, I do not have the HUB, or even TV at all.
But my pal copied the first 4 episodes on a disc for me.
I do not usually do this, as I am a stickler for the law, but c’mon, this is Batman!
No matter what it sounds like, the Berne Convention regulates copyrights internationally.
However, that statement about is being public domain is just plain wrong. The TV show was copyrighted at the time it was aired. The copyright would have still been effect when the copyright term was extended. Not to mention things like the Batman trademark. In any case, the copyright database indicates that all the shows are owned by Greenway Productions (it’s possible the link has timed out).
I’m guessing they meant the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 that made the US part of the “Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works” which more or less established international copyright law.
Note that the word “unreleased” does not appear in either text.
I blame Egghead.
Or possibly King Tut.
There are conflicting reasons for the non-release of Batman on home video. One of these may indeed be disagreement between Fox and Warner brothers. Also, DC Comics may not wish to dilute the current image of Batman as the Dark Knight. They wish to disassociate themselves with Batman’s campy 60’s image. There also may be issues involving Greenway Productions, the show’s original production company. Also, clearance may need to be obtained regarding actors who have made cameos, but did not have onscreen credit, such as when Dick Clark or Phyllis Diller sticks their head out a window as Batman and Robin are climbing a wall. And clearances may even need to be obtained for such surprising things as the design of the costumes and the Batmobile.
Also be advised, any DVD’s of the show advertised are likely to be of crappy quality. They are usually dubbed from VHS tapes recorded from the air or from cable and burned to DVD-R. You can often see the network logo such as TVLand in the bottom right corner. And they may be problematic in playing on your DVD player, as they are not the higher quality pressed discs that most major studios release.
cochrane:
I own a full-series set of Night Court that I bought from one of these types of places (I despaired of Time Warner Home Video releasing seasons after the first when there was no word after two years’ wait; in general, I do prefer to respect copyright holders, but if they seemed to feel there was no profit in the show I wanted to buy, I did not feel I was costing them anything by going this route. Now, of course, they have since released seasons 2-4). It is true that these were recorded off of cable airings on TV Land and other channels, and these logos are very visible, and end credits are usually squashed by half-screen commercials for the next show, and I’m sure there are scenes that get cut from the syndicated version that will be included in legitimate DVD releases. If it bothers you so much that you’d rather not watch it at all than watch it that way, that’s up to you. But I will also say that the video and audio quality seem fine to me, the packaging I received it in is very user-friendly and protective of the DVDs, more so than some legitimate releases (I’m looking at you, Simpsons Seasons 11 and up), and they even made decent episode menus using the show’s own logo and theme music. The viewing experience is certainly no worse than watching the episodes on cable.
Well, I’ve had DVD’s of such shows that froze in my DVD player and made pixelated “snow.” I am very leery of such burned discs, as they are burned onto blank DVD-R’s that you can get 100 of for $20 at Wal-Mart. I reiterate, crappy quality. YMMV, of course. I’m not against getting DVD’s that are dubbed from broadcasts, but if they don’t play in my machine without freezing, why bother? And it’s not my DVD player. I’ve played them on two different ones and had the exact same problems viewing them.
No, it had to be Riddler:
“Riddle me this, Batman. What do you get when a group of arson victims gather to talk about their experiences?”
My thing is, if I’m going to watch a show that hasn’t been released on DVD, I might as well watch it online instead. Or make my own DVDs of it.
IF you’re going to “rip off” the studios anyways, why pay someone else money for it?
BigT:
Take your pick:
a) Don’t own a DVD recording device
b) Don’t have cable
c) Show you want is not (or is no longer) part of the regular cable rotation, at least not on channels you get
d) Repeats are not reliably aired in broadcast order, may never end up seeing entire series