RE: [dvd-discuss] Salon Artice on DVD Commentary

["Steve Hosgood" <steve(at)caederus.com>]

Richard M. Hartman wrote:
> Just a short step from "legitimate" commentary
> to MST3K-style ... and then what have you got?
> Essentially the same thing we've been discussing
> about inserting third-party material directly
> into the flick ...
> 

If doing a downloadable MST3K-type commentary (or whatever) is supposedly
illegal, how do people get away with *selling* books like "Slayer: An Expanded
and Updated Unofficial and Unauthorized Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer(*)"?

Seems to me to be the paper equivalent to doing what is being proposed for
downloadable playlists or commentaries. The copyrighted original work is *not*
distributed (but is mentioned in the title of course), and you'd have to go
out and *buy* a copy of that work in order to make real use of the unauthorised
add-on. The copyright holder sells more copies, even if they don't approve of
the contents of the add-on.

Seems that the copyright holder can't even sue to remove the name of the
copyrighted work from the title of the add-on either, or I'm sure they would
in many cases.




(*) See Amazon for details:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0753506319/qid=1033132078/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/002-4869074-2680818?v=glance


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