t matter that he did not do it on this site. He got the edits from here, and it makes the fanediting community look bad. OT.com had EVERY right to ban him. I like how Will likened banning OCP to cutting off his hands for stealing bread. Come on! Honestly. There are a lot of people struggling in the world. I myself am not exactly rich. We all have to work hard for what we have. I have no idea what OCP does, but if his job does not cover his rent, perhaps he should look for a cheaper apartment, find a higher paying job or take on a second job. You know, the kind of things the rest of us do to get by. With Will's logic, if I am struggling, I am perfectly right to go and steal a car and sell it, because I am struggling. If I get caught, well then it is a damn shame and I should have been more subtle about the whole matter. You said you met OCP in high school? What was that liek last week. I really hope you just got out of high school if you have that kind of thinking. Because if you have been in the real world for more than a few years and still think this way then... I have no idea what to say.
It is also funny you put fanediting and selling bootlegs for profit in the same boat. "Yes, I can see a judge rolling his eyes at that line of logic." Making copies of movies for the sake of profit, and editing movies as a hobby are to totally different things. Why should a copyright owner really care if you are editing their film for your own fun as long as you paid them for the original. Even if they wanted too, it is going to cost them. I cannot see it being worth their time and money to do this when it is of no gain to them. However, if you are selling their films, they will see this as a threat, and it is worth it to them to put a stop to it. They will be spending money to do so, but it is important to make an example of them to prevent further abuse.
Looking at the past, since the time the Phantom Menace came out and the first fanedit of it poped up and made big news, the copyright holders looked at the issues, thought the best way to proceed, and in the end did nothing. GL has so far been friendly about the matter, and other copyright holders would be smart to do likewise. If in the future there is a huge epidemic of people like OCP deciding that since they went through the pain and sweat of downloading the thing that they have the right to sell it (but only because they are having a hard time with life), then the copyright holders might reconsider their current stance.
So, lets review:
Bootlegging = very bad, punishable by law and has been punished by law on countless occasions.
Fan edits = a fairly gray area, technically breaking of copyright law but not doing any harm, to date has never been punished by law, even though its existence has been acknowledge by film makers.
We are not in the same boat as OCP, he was selling for profit, while we are editing for fun. If one day they decide to crack down on fan edits, then it will be interesting what the courts decide. If and when that time comes, then we will all either stop, or go underground. As it is, I really do not feel I am breaking any laws. Of all the fan edits I posses, I also own the original, bought and paid for retail DVD. The money going straight from my hands to the hands of the copyright owners. They have nothing to complain about with me. OCP on the other hand, his case in something entirely different. He had no right, by whatever argument you want to use to sell those discs. I don't give a crap if he was doing it to pay rent, and neither do the copyright owners.