nightstalkerpoet said:
I was just curious about this from a legal standpoint. As faneditors, we have an obligation to avoid breaking the law with our works. This is done by not selling edits for profit and by MAKING SURE ANYONE WHO VIEWS THEM OWNS AN ORIGINAL COPY.
Up until this point, there has been no "Official" retail copy of Star Wars available for purchase in a high definition format. Thus, when downloading edits or preservations in HD (from HDTV copies), owning the DVD copy has been the legal basis for being able to view these edits.
Now that the Bluray copies have been released, doesn't that mean that anyone who downloads a high-definition source edit should be required to own a high definition retail copy to fulfill that same legal obligation?
Yes. Why? Let me put it this way:
If you were to acquire a 4K digital copy of the film, you would have acquired it illegally as it is NOT available in that format.
An example: The fanedit "Two Towers: The Purist Edit" was made using an unofficial copy of the film, and although the editor and viewers had the DVD copies, NLC/WB cracked down on the fanedit due to its original source material.
In terms of DVR recordings of Star Wars in HD, the law in the USA is that you have to delete it after 24hrs (in Canada you can have it as long as you don't distribute it - unless they are musical broadcasts, in which case I think there's some weird clause where you can give away three copies).
Because Star Wars was NOT available in HD, I'm assuming that is why Lucas Films did not crack down on the fanedit community - however, now that they are available, this changes things. The game has changed.
So with all that in mind, the real question comes down to your moral judgement, but the big hullabaloo being projected earlier was that poster should NOT be encouraging a "boycott" on the release and still ACTIVELY say they will not only be downloading the HD version of fanedits, but that they will also donate the money they would have given to Lucas, instead to the faneditors.
Downloading and distributing fanedits is technically illegal and you could get sued either way, but we're yet to face a problem when these things were followed:
- The film is not distributed to those who do not own the source material.
- The film is not received by those who do not own the source material.
- The film is not edited unless the editor owns the source material.
Whether or not you buy the BD release is your call, but to wave a big flag saying "Fuck you Lucas, fanedits are getting my money - and for HD versions of your films!", you're not only putting yourself at risk, but the faneditors, and even entire fanedit community at large.
So as long as you STFU about it, we (the community; I couldn't care less about those breaking copyright) should be fine - but keep in mind, the OFFICIAL stand point of the fanedit is to OWN the films.