Hi, Eileen, The word "dvdrip" is usually a good clue that the site is not legit. Also a little investigation will reveal that the films are not "downloadable" or streamable as they claim or might expect like on Netflix or Hulu- the links all seem to lead to torrent files. And lots of ads and spammy design which means this is probably a scheme to get eyeballs (and bots) to click on ads.
Ubuweb is more open about what they're doing and are apparently depending upon the single fair-use factor of potential impact on the marketplace as their (almost) sole justification. ("You can't buy it anyway.") I appreciate (and the filmmakers may too) Ubuweb's attempts to air some very obscure content in spite of their admission they don't have the rights, just the desire. Both these sights seem to be hoping that out-of-print (though not necessarily orphan) works attract less legal attention, but just because something is not in print does not mean it's free game for anyone else. My $.02. - - Roger Brown Manager UCLA Instructional Media Collections & Services 46 Powell Library Los Angeles, CA 90095-1517 office: 310-206-1248 fax: 310-206-5392 rbr...@oid.ucla.edu > >From: "Karsten, Eileen" <kars...@mx.lakeforest.edu> >S > >Does anyone know if the films available from SIMAP Project - Download >dvdrip, divx, mp4, dvd movies<http://www.simap-project.org> are legal? >They have available a movie for download that one of our faculty is >interested in showing to a class. There appears to be no information on >this site. > >I found another site called ubuweb film. They have a FAQ section and >their policy on copyright is: > >What is your policy concerning posting copyrighted material? >If it's out of print, we feel it's fair game. Or if something is in >print, yet absurdly priced or insanely hard to procure, we'll take a >chance on it. But if it's in print and available to all, we won't touch >it. The last thing we'd want to do is to take the meager amount of money >out of the pockets of those releasing generally poorly-selling materials >of the avant-garde. UbuWeb functions as a distribution center for >hard-to-find, out-of-print and obscure materials, transferred digitally >to the web. Our scanning, say, an historical concrete poem in no way >detracts from the physical value of that object in the real world; in >fact, it probably enhances it. Either way, we don't care: Ebay is full of >wonderful physical artifacts, most of them worth a lot of money. > >Should something return to print, we will remove it from our site >immediately. Also, should an artist find their material posted on UbuWeb >without permission and wants it removed, please let us know. However, >most of the time, we find artists are thrilled to find their work cared >for and displayed in a sympathetic context. As always, we welcome more >work from existing artists on site. > >Let's face it, if we had to get permission from everyone on UbuWeb, there >would be no UbuWeb. > >Eileen Karsten >Head of Technical Services >Donnelley & Lee Library >Lake Forest College >555 N. Sheridan Road >Lake Forest, IL 60045 >kars...@mx.lakeforest.edu<mailto:kars...@lakeforest.edu> >847-735-5066 > >- VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.