Is it legal for you to record an album of music onto an audio cassette and give it to someone? Unless the laws have changed, yes. So, if it is legal for someone to get movies with descriptive narration, is it legal to send a copy, upon request, to someone where the product is not available? --- In God we trust! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Ward" <[email protected]> To: "Gamers Discussion list" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Piracy was: Requesting Rogue Angel Series
Hi Dark and all, The issue of copyrights, piracy, etc is a very slippery slope. One beyond the scope of this list. Especially, when it comes to books and movies. I will say this though. As you pointed out not all materials are available to everyone everywhere, and thus piracy exists for that very reason. Sometimes the laws of a certain country, businesses, etc are unwilling to provide equal access to materials and content. For example, take described movies. Here in the U.S. obtaining described movies and television shows is very difficult, and very few and far between. However, in the U.K. there are networks like Sky that play all sorts of described movies and shows. That is a distinct advantage you guys in the U.K. have that we don't have. So if I ask someone in the U.K. to record a certain movie or TV program described I am technically in violation of piracy. However, the very company that produced that movie did not produce it with audio description, don't provide audio description on the dvd, and I have no way to record or buy that movie here in the U.S. with audio description. Even if I can it comes at a far greater price than what it would cost a sighted person to purchase that same movie. So if I obtain it illegally with audio description I'm indeed guilty of breaking the law, but what law have the movie companies broken by not making it available to me legally? My point here is that there are some serious intellectual and moral issues on both sides of the argument. The person who stole or pirated that movie is guilty of breaking the law, but his/her reasons may be justified. In what way can we hold the movie companies accountable for providing closed captioning for the def, but the majority of them lack audio description for the blind? What is a blind person to do when he can not obtain said movie in audio description in his country of birth legally? Are blind people in the United States expected to do without audio description when our counterparts in the U.K. can legally have it? Bottom line i don't have an answer for this. However, just because a law says this or that doesn't necessarily make it fair or just. Often times laws are made regardless of special interest groups who may be effected by them, and then the laws have to be rewritten or amended to fix the screw up. Unfortunately, it can often times take years before the wrongs done by the law are officially redressed. This very same problem applies to games as well as movies. Most companies have a lot of control over their copyrights making it almost impossible to create any games based on a popular game for the sighted. Name any popular game series you like such as Star Wars, Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat, Halo, Megaman, etc an accessible game developer has to pay a heavy price to write a game like that legally. Often times the cost is beyond his/her means, and no mainstream game company is under obligation to give a person the right to use there copyrights and trademarks legally. Therefore once again we get the shaft do to laws and large corporate self-interest. When it comes to matters of accessibility we are always last in line because no one seams interested in helping us out if it doesn't line their pockets with hard cash. In conclusion since I've come this far I might as well explain what I personally think and feel on this matter of piracy. I consider myself generally a good citizen of the country were I live, and by and large don't believe in steeling. Never-the-less I do believe that various laws are unjust as the apply to the blind citizens of this country. On one hand we are told if we copy a book, movie, or game idea we are steeling or committing piracy. That is fair enough, but on the other hand there is no law saying that book, movie, or game idea has to be fully accessible to the blind and cost the same as the mainstream version. So if there is an accessible version in another country and not available in my country, is available but costs double the normal price a sighted person would pay, whatever the law says I have to shut up and like it. That's what I disagree with, and under those circumstances I do feel justified in obtaining a book, movie, whatever any way I can get it. If and when it becomes available legally I'd certainly do so, but if I can't then shame on me for pirating it and shame on the company for not making it accessible and legally available in the first place. Cheers. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected]. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
