According to copyright.gov The Digital Millennium copyright
Act (DMCA), was originally made to limit the liability of Internet service
providers in conjunction to their users engaged in media copyright infringement.
The DMCA saved companies like Google’s YouTube from a Viacom lawsuit, where
Viacom accused YouTube of allowing their users to illegally distribute their
products along the video-sharing site.
Due to notions made by documentary filmmakers, the U.S
copyright department has decided to make an exemption to the DMCA, allowing
filmmakers use copyrighted media ripping content from DVD’s and streamed videos,
but including Blu-Ray. [indiewire.com]
Documentary filmmakers have gotten the copyrights office to
agree that this act is for the fair use of digital media in a documentary.
The exemption makes sense to me because DVD’s and streamed
videos are a readily accessible resource, and how else are you suppose to show
an authentic example without going over budget.
Filmmakers can make a documentary on NASA or space exploration
and will be allowed to use scenes from Apollo 13 staring Tom Hanks, without
fear of being reprimanded by Universal Pictures.
The Blu-Ray not being part of
the exemption, I would say doesn’t matter as long as the quality of what you
are referencing is decent; the filmmaker is giving an example not reproducing a
feature. The main reason I can see Blu-Ray not being part of the exemption is
to deter those who would misuse the resource and have open-game with illegally
distribution of a high quality format. DVD’s have always been easily rip-able
but ever since Blu-Ray’s beginning, it has had a specific copy protection,
utilizing multiple layer of Digital rights Management (DRM) designed to deter
illegal copying, done mostly to maintain the value of the supposed future
format of home entertainment.
Even though DVD’s are rip-able and Blu-Ray’s can be ripped
by the use of wide range of software available, it is still illegal for
consumers to do so.
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