Quote:
Originally Posted by octagon
We're not talking about Faustian Bargains here. Faust had to give up something that was his. In this case we might - repeat might - be faced with 'giving up' something that isn't ours to begin with: namely, the 'right' to do whatever we want with the next copy of Lawrence of Arabia we purchase.
Don't get me wrong, I'm as big a control freak as the next guy. I hope studios will continue to sell what are essentially transferable lifetime licenses. But I don't feel entitled to such a license.
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Regardless of technical legal semantics, when it comes to movies, video games, etc, that we BUY, I've never been a fan of this shady vague "license" concept, where we supposedly don't
quite own it, but we aren't "just renting" it either. It's this non-specific thing that supposedly lays somewhere in between the two. It's a load of crap and always has been IMO. It was just never an issue when the only options were physical media. There wasn't much they could do to stop people from continuing to use it, trade it, sell it, lend it out, etc. And the first sales doctrine protects that as well.
But now in the digital age it is becoming more and more of a problem. Both in that more forms of entertainment and information are being sent and sold digitally, and that line between ownership and rental is becoming more and more vague and blurred.
Instead of having a doctrine that protects our rights as consumers, we have to click on ridiculous EULAs all of the time (or as I prefer to call them EULUs... End User License Ultimatums) that basically allow these companies to do whatever they want, take away access whenever they want, and are legally protected because of these stupid agreements.
And we are supposedly expected to read these things and knowing what we are agreeing to, but the problem with that is each of them are like reading a very boring novel, and they pop up constantly and sometimes randomly... when updating a game system, itunes, other various devices or services, paying for and downloading a new piece of content, etc. Apparently we are supposed to be prepared to stop and read a contract whenever one pops up just to be prepared. But even then, if we were to do that, what options do we have? Either agree to their BS terms, or don't and lose access to what you already have. I can't use my PS4 online going forward if I don't agree to the terms of the latest update, for example.
There really needs to be laws in place for more consumer protections when it comes to digital distribution and authentication.
I get that legally we don't have the right to copy/pirate this content, show it publicly, and so forth, but I still don't feel that should necessarily negate the ownership aspect of physical media. I understand that I don't own the intellectual copyright or distributions rights to a movie that I buy on Blu-Ray. but the way I see it, I own THAT Blu-Ray and the right to watch it when I want, where I want, so long as it doesn't break the public performance rule.
Let's make some comparisons. If my wife buys a designer purse, she owns
that purse. She does not own the design of the purse or the name brand of it. She does not have the right to make knock offs of the purse, brand name and all, and sell them. That would infringe on the trademark/copyright and so forth. And knock-off purses are a real issue that happen.
However, it does not negate the fact that she owns the particular purse that she bought. It's hers to otherwise do with what she wants. She can use it for the rest of her life or until it falls apart (whichever comes first). If she decides that she doesn't want it anymore, she can sell it, trade it, give it away, destroy it for no good reason, etc.
Likewise, while product placement in movies is common and usually the company that makes the product pays the studio to place the product in a film, if a studio/filmmaker decides to put a name brand product in the movie (and make very specific reference to it, no less), and the company does not give permission to do so and they decide that they don't like their product being in the movie, they can sue, send out a cease and desist notification, etc. Most companies would probably be happy with the free advertising, but technically and legally, they can sue.
Heck, let's look at cars for another example. If you buy a car (and have any loan fully paid off), the car is yours. Yes, you need to be licensed to drive a car, but there's a big difference there. For one thing, the license to drive it technically independent of owning a car, they just tend to go hand in hand for obvious reasons. For another, it's not like we have to worry about there ever being a day in which they decide to just stop issues driver's licenses altogether (short of a catastrophic event happening causing society to fall apart, but in that case we'd have bigger tings to worry about anyway). As long as you are a safe driver and in a condition both physically and mentally to be able to drive, and pass all of the proper testing when it's time to renew, then you have nothing to worry about.
Likewise, cars are regulated through emissions testing, registration, and the like.
All of this is because owning and operating a car is a significant responsibility due to a variety of safety reasons. And yet NONE of it negates the fact that if you buy a car, you own it. It's yours, end of story.
I can go on and make many more comparisons. And yes, different items being compared to will be on different playing fields to some extent or another. Some are more regulated (i.e. cars). And some things are harder to make bootleg versions of than others (and some things have more of a market for bootlegging than others).
But still, at the end of the day, with most everything else in life, it's a clear cut if you own it or if you don't.
When you rented a movie from a rental store, there was generally a specific due date to return it or you get charged more money. If you take vacation, while pricey in many cases, it's known ahead of time that it's an experience for a limited time, typically a set number of days planned out in advance.
But when you buy something, it's yours until you die or it breaks. And there are warranties and even laws that protect customers from really shottily-made products, etc.
Should my toilet have a computer board in it that has to authenticate online before I can flush it? Should the people at American Standard reserve the right to cut off my access to use my years-old, but still very well functioning toilet anytime they see fit, forcing me to buy a new model that they will still authenticate to so that they can make more money, and in the short term giving me a major problem whenever "nature calls"? Somehow I doubt anyone here would agree that would or should be within their rights.
To me having continued, non stop, ongoing access to the movies that I BUY should not be any different. To me applying terms like "control freak" or "entitlement" (especially with the negative connotation that is often applied to entitlement) is not even an accurate way to describe the issue here. To me it's not entitlement but a basic, reasonable, expected right that comes along with making the legitimate purchase of the product in question.
If the toilet that someone BUYS is not a license that the company that makes it can take away.... if the use of the pots and pans that someone owns to cook their meals is not something that the respective manufacturing companies can take away when they see fit... if the use our furniture, appliances, our dinnerware, and our televisions that we BOUGHT with our hard earned money is not something that the companies that made them can just up and take away or otherwise impair the use and access of when they see fit, then why should BUYING movies on Blu-Ray or 4K Blu-Ray be any different? Why is it even a matter of "entitlement" or "being a control freak" when all that we are asking is to be able to use the movies that we buy be able to be used ongoingly like most everything else, without the companies involved cutting off access when and if it bests suits them to do so?
It makes absolutely no sense, and any argument in defense of it is asinine by default.
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