Garth Bigelow - Returning the Past To You

What I am discussing here is Video Piracy. That is the reproduction and sales of images on DVD for which you do not have any rights agreements for, and for which the rights are not in public domain. This is a crime and discussing it honestly in a public forum is probably not the smartest move. As I am still engages in this business it might seem downright foolish, however:

It is a large part of how I am and my history, and so omitting it would leave a large whole in the story of who I am.
I feel very justified in what I do, and am proud of the effort I put into my product.
Plenty of "authorities" have looked over my wares and where they have problems I have complied with their wishes.
If they authorities wish to put me away for the few years I have left, they can assume the cost for my medical bills, housing and feeding. Frankly I could use the rest. With my condition they'd have to put me in solitary, and with a TV that wouldn't be that different from here.
Names of responsible parties will be changed should they wish it. Fictitious names will start with the letter 'A'.

The MPAA is currently traveling down the same road that the RIAA went down when it stopped Napster and shot itself in the foot. While the MPAA has both more cause to worry and a more valid case, still like RIAA it is still blaming piracy for declining ticket sales rather than the real culprits it's distribution model that stifles diversity while exalting the lowest common denominator and out of control pricing. That said let me define the types of piracy and explain why I defend mine.

The Ethics of Bootlegging

In order to avoid the media backlash that occurred when the RIAA took the heavy handed approach, the MPAA has spent millions molding public opinion with ads before movies, on television and in newspapers:

"I'm a stage grip, and selling illegal copies takes food out of my kids mouths."

I find this one funny because I don't think any stage grip anytime, anywhere, ever got a percentage of the gross or net. He gets paid up front. If the movie flops or goes on to make billions, he already got paid. But that makes a better commercial than "I'm a billionaire movie producer, and illegal copies potentially reduce my bottom line by 5%."

My only problem with these ads is they make no emphasis on the types of bootlegs. So let me get into that first. In my mind I split them into two categories:

Copies of movies still in theater. Actually this is truly movies in that period between creation and when they are released on DVD. An exception to this definition would be movies created but for some reason stalled to the point that there is no plan to release them in theater or on DVD. An addition would be something from the long past that has never been on DVD that they have announced plans to release on DVD. The unifying principal is "an item that have plans to make money by releasing."
Items no one has made any attempt or announced any plans to market.

The first category is truly what the MPAA is trying to stop. And I'm all for that. Selling the second type is completely within my ethical system. To begin to justify that I'm going to have to explain how I view the law.

Some people see the law as absolute, some see it as largely absolute with a few exceptions. I'm sure there are some that see it as something to be totally ignored, and probably there is a vast spectrum of almost every vantage point in between. For me laws break down into four categories:

Immutable laws: Things like murder, bank robbery. Lines that are just never to be crossed. And these are in general laws that you can always expect to be enforced.
Management Laws: Speeding is an example of this. Speeding laws are written, signs are posted, and some attempt at enforcement is made. But it isn't expected that no one will speed, and in fact if everyone obeyed the speeding laws our highways would bog down under the flow. These laws are in place to keep things from getting out of control. A certain amount of it is tolerated, expected and possibly even needed, but the laws are there to stop things from getting too far out of control. When control is needed, the laws are exerted.
Corrupt Laws: These are one party creating a law for the benefit of a friend or payee.
Antiquated Laws: These are laws, still on the books for no known reason.

The first two concern me the most. The first corals me, the second I have no ethical compulsion in breaking if I feel I understand the reasons for the spirit of the law, and feel I am under the "problem" threshold (i.e. I am not enough of a problem to need to be controlled.)

That's how I view the law.

Now I think I need to go over a brief history of the role of conventions as it pertains to bringing unavailable materials to the people.