J films on video w/ E subtitles

[Gerry Malir (Artsmagic Ltd)]

Just out of interest, as far as I'm aware, this doesn't only apply in Japan,
but all over the world, regardless of origin of production.


Gerry Malir
Managing Director
WorldwideWales.tv
Telephone:  +44 (0)1495 307341
Fax:  +44 (0)1495 307343
Email: gerry at worldwidewales.tv
Website: http://www.worldwidewales.tv
----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron Gerow" <gerow at ynu.ac.jp>
To: "KineJapan" <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: J films on video w/ E subtitles


> Markus may have had his problems with a credit card (which seems odd,
> given that tourists use credit cards all the time), but at least he was
> able to buy some DVDs.
>
> As I have reported before, I had problems last time purchasing DVDs in
> Japan for my university because the companies, it seems, are blocking
> sales of DVDs to such institutions.
>
> I was able to talk to a representative of one company today and, while he
> was quite polite and understanding, amazed to find out the problem is
> even worse than I thought. He was saying that technically universities
> shouldn't be able to buy VHS tapes either! According to him, it was all a
> question of rights. DVDs and videos are sold for home use only, and to
> buy them for public use in a library involves other rights. The company
> only has the rights to sell them for home not public use. When I asked
> who has those rights, he said say the original producers (who in some
> cases can be multiple companies), but no one has made any arrangement to
> facilitate sales to universities and/or their libraries. (If I wanted to
> buy the tape/DVD for the university, I'd then have to get permission from
> each of the multiple producers of every single tape/DVD I want!) The
> argument, which I heard, is that sales to universities cut into rental
> video/DVD sales, so they're not interesting in facilitating such sales.
>
> Some Japanese companies do have special rates for library purchase (as
> some US companies do), but in general this is only for clearly
> educational products, and not for regular commercial films. Only a few
> DVDs and videos are sold for home and public use.
>
> Thus technically all of you who are buying DVDs and videos in Japan for
> university use, unless you are buying at a special institutional rate
> (which is only available on a small number of items), are doing so
> illegally because you have not paid the money to those who own the rights
> for public use.
>
> The result, of course, is abominable. Namely that unless the Japanese
> industry can get its act together and coordinate sales of videos/DVDs of
> commercial films to libraries, no university can legally purchase them
> and film studies in Japan will remain stillborn.
>
> Aaron Gerow
> Associate Professor
> International Student Center
> Yokohama National University
> 79-1 Tokiwadai
> Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
> JAPAN
> E-mail: gerow at ynu.ac.jp
> Phone: 81-45-339-3170
> Fax: 81-45-339-3171
>