I'm curious as to how this practice differs from Walmart's practice of
selling "sanitized" versions of CDs and DVDs.  At least with music CDs,
I guess the recording studios have approved the changes, in which case
it's not copyright infringement.  Radio stations for decades have played
versions of songs with certain words changed (one instance is Charlie
Daniels Band's "Devil Went Down to Georgia"), and often the albums
containing those songs have also been "cleaned up," depending on where
they're being sold.  But again, this was likely done with the knowledge
and cooperation (if not approval) of the studios.
 
I don't condone these companies taking movies and changing them to fit
whatever "morals" they favor.  In fact, I'm surprised that - having gone
that far - they didn't change the endings of a few if they didn't go
along with their notions of "good is supposed to triumph over evil." 
But I'm curious about how this differs from what Walmart (and maybe
other large chains?) has been doing for years.
 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 
James Stimpert
Archivist (Arts and Sciences)        E-mail:    [log in to unmask]
MSE Library
Johns Hopkins University             Voice:     (410) 516-8323
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD  21218                  Fax:       (410) 516-7202


>>> Roy Webb <[log in to unmask]> 07/17/06 12:44 PM >>>

Just back from a family vacation, too late to get in on the staff
morale thread, dang!  Oh well, suffice to say we all work together well
and I'm lucky to have a great staff.  Anyway, a couple more things about
the "CleanFlicks" controversy--which is kind of a home-grown thang from
the Pretty, Great State of Utah--that has, obviously, national
implications.  The first is a TRIBUNE editorial agreeing with the court
that said the practice had to stop; the other two are just articles by
one of the entertainment editors about the latest news on it.  I had to
agree with a comment by someone else, that this is yet another case of
people thinking that their personal beliefs put them above the law.



7/12/06
The right to copy: So much time picking at maggots
Tribune Editorial

It's not, goodness knows, that Hollywood never makes a horrible hash
out of someone else's creative work.
   But, unless motion picture producers want to reach back into the
public domain to slime Shakespeare, demean Dickens or popularize
Puccini, they have to buy the rights to any novel, play or old TV show
they want to turn into a feature film.
   And the copyright-holder has the right, if not always the strength,
to either refuse to sell it or to demand some creative control over the
final product.
   That's the point that the owners of Utah-based CleanFlicks and
similar outfits have not seemed to grasp. It's the point of a correctly
reasoned federal court ruling last week that found the unauthorized
editing of copyrighted films by people who turn around and sell or rent
the altered versions to someone else is illegal. 
http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_4054661


7/14/06
CleanFlicks gets more time to surrender doctored films
By Vince Horiuchi
The Salt Lake Tribune

Video companies that sanitize movies for rental have been given more
time to hand over all their inventory to Hollywood attorneys as part of
federal court judgment.
   CleanFlicks of American Fork and another Utah company, CleanFilms,
were ordered to immediately shut down business and give up all of their
stock of edited movies within five days after a U.S. District Court
judge ruled July 6 that what they do violates U.S. copyright law.
   CleanFlicks Chief Executive Ray Lines said he has had to wait to
receive all of his DVDs and VHS tapes from rental customers before he
can comply with the order.
   He and the owners of CleanFilms, a party to the suit that also rents
and sells edited videos to other stores and to customers over the
Internet, have been meeting with their attorneys this week to determine
whether they should appeal the ruling.
http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_4049375



7/15/06 
CleanFlicks stores plan for the worst
By Vince Horiuchi
The Salt Lake Tribune

        
    John Dixon, right, and Ray Lines, chief executive for video
distributor CleanFlicks, are seen at a Provo CleanFlicks store. (Paul
Fraughton/Tribune file photo )     
Every week, Aaron Campbell and his family stop by the CleanFlicks video
store in Orem to rent movies such as "The Pink Panther" or "The Matrix."
But these videos have been scrubbed clean of foul language and
violence.
   Tuesday, the 35-year-old Orem marketing manager stepped into the
store again. But he wasn't renting videos; he was buying because
CleanFlicks might have to close its doors. 
http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_4039504 




Roy Webb, C.A.
Multimedia Archivist
Special Collections
J. Willard Marriott Library
295 South 1500 East
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah  84112
office: (801) 585-3073
FAX: (801) 585-3976
[log in to unmask]
http://www.lib.utah.edu/spc/photo 

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