canofhumdingers said:

none said:

Erikstormtrooper wrote: I don't understand why the LOC can't copy the existing older prints they have of Star Wars.

First off, Copyright prohibits them.

The LoC can't do anything until copyright expires on a work. They might be able to do things in house without telling anyone, but they can't tell anyone and they can't tell anyone. And if it did get out that they were reproducing anything prior to copyright expiration, heads would roll.

I'm not entirely sure that's true... If it's on the National Film Registry I think they might be allowed to duplicate/preserve it without the copyright owner's permission. But don't quote me on that as I'm not 100% positive.

Of course, if they can legally preserve/duplicate it, they still wouldn't be allowed to make copies for distribution.

I do know for certain that they are legally allowed to screen anything in their collection publicly, copyright or not, so long as it's screened for free at the LoC's theater facilities.

Zombie's article stated that a private collector had leant his personal technicolor print to the LOC, to see if they could make a copy. It turned out they couldn't, so the print was returned to the collector. So if they can try to copy a print of questionable legality, how's that any different from trying to copy a print they already have that's protected by copyright?

I'm not talking about copies that they could distribute or even screen. I'm talking about copies that would prolong the life of their archival prints, since Lucas refuses to give them a copy of the film in better condition.