Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Lets try this again /Universal cracking down on u-tube!

This is topic Lets try this again /Universal cracking down on u-tube! in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Steve Matz (Member # 1890) on 11-24-2013, 01:24 AM:

I see NBC/UNIVERSAL is starting to crack down on some U-Tubers that
are uploading Castle Shorts. I went up there to find W.C Fields 1932 classic
"If I had a Million and got a message on the tube that it was taken
down for copyright infringement.I don't understand this as there are tons of
A&C shorts up and they haven't been tagged yet.

Castle was usually pretty good about renaming the shorts taken from a
feature.For instance The shorts "Fun on the Run" & "Oysters and Muscles
were taken from the 1945 Feature "Here come the Coeds" But then again
Films like "The Wolfman", "A&C meet Frankenstein",etc. are still up
there...

I know Universal is a stickler about Copywrite infringement,even on films
that will never see a main stream theater ever again. They came after me
in the early 70's when they somehow learned I had a 16mm print of
A&C Meet Frankenstein...I can still remember getting a registered letter
from Universal basically trying to scare me with what they could do
to me by possessing this print. They more or less said that if I surrendered
the print than there would be no prosecution charges brought against me.

I don't scare easy folks;I just sent a return letter to them saying if
you know for a fact that I have this print in my possession than come
and get it... I never heard from them again...

I know Film Studios have to protect their Film rights but come on here
were talking about a Movie that was made in 1932.It will be interesting to see
what ends up disappearing on U-tube down the Line...

Castle Films was actually a Subsidiary of United World Films/which
I guess is part of Universal somewhere in there...You would think they
would be more worried about their newer stuff being pirated than the
old stuff than again it may be W.C. Fields people making all the fuss

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 11-24-2013, 01:49 AM:

1) This really has nothing to do with film projection. Perhaps it should be in the After Life forum.

2) There is an edit button if you post something and need to change it.