My friend is selling copies of dvd's of mine on eBay. Need advice!

[romantico]

I need some advice REAL bad!

Okay, I am computerless. I am using the computer at a friend's house & the library. Anyway,I had a friend make me a copy a couple dvds. One was a campy holiday special that appeared on Network tv in the mid 70's. Its total camp & a cult classic. The other is a current Broadway show. This dvd is a collection of appearances on the David Letterman show, The Today show, Macy's parade, & various other appearnces. It has perfromances & and interviews. It is a major show & very popular with broadway fans. So, I loaned him the dvd's because he sounded interested.

I just checked his profile on eBay & have discovered that he has been selling copies of these dvd's on eBay. He's not breaking any laws but since December on these 2 dvd's alone (my dvd's I loaned I might add) he has made over $600 on these 2 alone. Okay, I could REALLY use the money. He did ask if he could make a copy of each but I assumed it was for a freind or something. Hell, I'm the one who told him about the huge fan base of both these dvd's. If I had a comouter & could burn dvd's I would sell them for half the price & give him some competion. I don't know how to approach him about this. He has done alot for me but I really feel like he's betraying me over this. AM I over reacting or should I be entitled to some of the dough? How can I bring it up without sounding to petty? Any advice is appreciated!

[eyesroll]

1. Isn't he breaking the law by selling a copy of a copyrighted work?

Unless the work on those DVDs was yours -- you violated the copyright to begin with, by copying the DVDs in the first place.

He copied your copies, and then is selling them -- illegally -- and you want a cut?

If anything, he owes money to the copyright owner. If that's not you, you're out of luck.

[romantico]

3. Its public domain

I checked. Thats what I thought at first as well. These were taken off the David Letterman show, today show & so on. Ebay allows him to sell it. The other was a variety show that was on ABC back in 1976. Its never been released. He's the only one selling it & people want them both. I'd rather not get a dime if he would just stop selling them. The fact that he has pulled in about $100 since Last Friday makes my blood boil.

[Ravenseye]

8. Where did you find that it's public domain

Anything that appeared on Network television, regardless of whether it's been released officially or not, is still not public domain. You cant' take something you recorded in 1976 and then turn around and sell it today. If it was on ABC the chances of it being public domain are slim to none. If you took something off the David Letterman show, the chances of it being public domain are also slim to none.

Where did you find out they were public domain? Simply because they'd never been officially released? Makes no difference. You broke the law, now he's breaking the law. That simple.

[romantico]

9. If it is not public domain

how come eBay allows him to sell it? I agree with you 100%!!! Should I alert eBay? How do I go about that? Thanks!

[Beaverhausen]

10. PM me the title(s)

I work in film/tv royalties. There is no way this is public domain.

[romantico]

12. Done

Thanks SO MUCH Beaverhausen! I owe you one!

[Ravenseye]

11. Ebay doesn't have time to check everything people sell

They put up certain filters, but in general they just don't police it. You need to inform them and they'll pull it.

[romantico]

13. I've been trying to

I chekc under HELP & COMMUNITY but can't find any answers to my questions. I'm not on eBay enough to know where to look I guess. If anyone knows the link or who & how to report abuse I would appreciate it. Thanks again to everyone for the helpful advice! I should have come here for help long ago!

[LostinVA]

17. They can't be public domain

I know quite a bit about copyrights and licensing because of my job.

[Beaverhausen]

4. What eyesroll said

This guy is wrong to be selling them and making money. Ebay should be alerted.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Out of simple good manners, he should have cleared it with you first.

That would just be friendly.

On the other hand, you never told him he couldn't do what he's doing, either, so you don't have much of a leg to stand on, either ethically or etiquettely.

I wouldn't say he has betrayed the friendship, not at all; but I would say that he failed, in this one instance, to consider the respect he should have given it.

[Deja Q]

5. Star Wars Holiday Special - that's not one of the campy titles, is it?

:rofl:

[romantico]

7. I have that one

I bought it on eBay, but no thats not it. Your in the same ballpark though. How do I alert eBay? I guess I could give it a try. Thanks!

[skygazer]

6. Doesn't sound like much of a friend to me

If he really was, he'd have said, "Hey, can I get copies of these so I can sell them on Ebay?"

Personally, I think you should simply ask him about it - "What's up with selling my DVD's on Ebay and not giving me a cut? That seems pretty lame since I'm the one who provided them and told you how popular they were."

There's nothing petty about that and frankly, I don't think you should worry too much about this person's feelings - he obviously wasn't thinking about yours. JMO

[romantico]

14. Anyone know

how I report this to eBay? I have been on the boards for about a half an hour looking & I keep coming up empty. I've never done this before. I can't seem to find my question anywhere which is how do ireport to eBay a seller is selling something thats not in the public domain? Thanks again everyone!!!

[Beaverhausen]

15. I just PMed you the link but here it is again

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/replica-counterfeit.html

[romantico]

16. Done!

Thanks for the advice Beaverhausen!Very helpful plus I learned something from all this! DU rocks!

[Redstone]

18. He IS breaking laws. Those Letterman appearances, for example,

belong to the producers of the Letterman show.

Burn him to Ebay, then if he doesn't stop, dime him out to NBC (or whatever network Letterman is on.)

What you did was not illegal, because it's for your personal use. But as soon as you or he or anyone sells those DVDs, they're breaking the law.

Redstone