# lissener crosses over to the dark side: Films available for free online **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476 "2009-10-12T02:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/21 "2009-10-13T21:55:40Z")
> [@jock123](#): > > In re: copyright, I’ve noticed that [archive.org](http://archive.org) isn’t always exactly squeaky clean; I don’t know if it holds for movies, but they do have some radio material which _is_ in copyright (e.g. seventies BBC drama adaptations of books which themselves are still in copyright) down as “public domain”. > > I”d say err on the side of caution/ conscience in such matters, and not believe that _everything_ that is said to be public domain is so… [archive.org](http://archive.org) puts a great deal of effort into “vetting” public domain material. I’d say it’s probably more likely that there’s some detail you’re not aware of, jock, than that they’re not careful about what they make available online. I’m not sure that ownership of a book’s copyright necessarily includes ownership of all secondary works based on that book, so your assumption that a film in the public domain is still subject to the copyright of its source book will at least require a cite. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/22 "2009-10-21T00:31:14Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > In honor of this thread, however, I’m watching _[My May Godfrey](http://www.archive.org/details/my_man_godfrey)_. > > Seriously, has anyone here not seen\* My Man Godfrey\*? Please, give yourself a gift. Free. OMG! I didn’t know that movie was available for free. Thanks. 😃 Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/23 "2009-10-21T00:53:18Z")
Yeah, definitely. I downloaded and burned myself a copy. Also _The Stork Club_. Not a flawless film, but for some reason it’s one I can watch over and over again and be cheered up every single time. I can’t explain why, but I highly recommend it. It makes me want to live in the 40s more than any other movie has ever made me want to live in another time. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/24 "2009-10-21T00:56:41Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > [archive.org](http://archive.org) puts a great deal of effort into “vetting” public domain material. I’d say it’s probably more likely that there’s some detail you’re not aware of, jock, than that they’re not careful about what they make available online. Maybe, but I’ve accessed US commercial recordings from the 78rpm era there, and if they’re from 1924 or later they’re still in copyright in the US. (Most other places, they’re PD.) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/25 "2009-10-21T00:58:02Z")
There are other considerations than date. ---
**Author:** ![jock123](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jock123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jock123)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/26 "2009-10-22T17:20:55Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > [archive.org](http://archive.org) puts a great deal of effort into “vetting” public domain material. I’d say it’s probably more likely that there’s some detail you’re not aware of, jock, than that they’re not careful about what they make available online. That’s entirely possible - but equally, and in this case more likely, they’ve not got it right; BBC material from the eighties just isn’t in the public domain. These files are pirate. > [@](#): > > I’m not sure that ownership of a book’s copyright necessarily includes ownership of all secondary works based on that book, so your assumption that a film in the public domain is still subject to the copyright of its source book will at least require a cite. That’s not what I’ve said; my statement was made to show that the rights exist in all forms of the material, and that, for example, the fact that just because “Robinson Crusoe” is in the public domain as a book, wouldn’t mean that I could post a BBC production made in the eighties on the net as PD. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/27 "2009-10-22T17:38:42Z")
Hijack with bad news: Hulu is going to [start charging](http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/10/22/hulu-to-start-charging-in-2010/)next year. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476/28 "2009-10-22T18:31:24Z")
> [@jock123](#): > > That’s entirely possible - but equally, and in this case more likely, they’ve not got it right; BBC material from the eighties just isn’t in the public domain. These files are pirate. That’s for you to prove. There are more considerations than date, as I’ve said. And there are more reasons than negligence to relinquish a copyright. Everything I’ve learned about Creative Commons suggests that their imprimatur is a guarantee of, at the very least, due diligence. If they’ve certified something as PD that raises your layman’s eyebrow, maybe you should see if there’s some aspect of the situation that you’re not aware of. I certainly wouldn’t take it as something that throws the whole project in doubt. In any case, I’d be interested in a specific example; we’re just talking abstract principles here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-crosses-over-to-the-dark-side-films-available-for-free-online/513476.md?page=1)