Universal <shakes head>

[KoshN]

I just tried to add "Miami Vice" to ...
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/
...and here's the response I got:

Miami Vice
Sorry, we can't add Miami Vice to the website. Back in the fall of 2002 we were contacted by a lawyer representing Universal Home Video who gave us 24 hours to remove the show from the site or face legal action. Although we don't believe Universal had grounds to file a lawsuit, they're the big company and we're the little guy so we decided not to pursue it.
***********

What a bunch of disfunctional nutcases Universal is! Good grief!

 

[zootle]

Eh?

Universal don't want the words "Miami Vice" to appear on a web site listing shows they'd like to see on DVD?

That really make no sense to, well, anyone, quite frankly.

 

[AntonyF]

Geeze.

 

[MartinRoth]

Eh?

Universal don't want the words "Miami Vice" to appear on a web site listing shows they'd like to see on DVD?

That really make no sense to, well, anyone, quite frankly.

Sounds like classic bureaucracy in action.

Under one possible scenario, a low-level employee:

<ul type="square">
[*]receives instructions to send letters to all non-official websites referencing show.
[*]does a Google search or something similar, and researches ownership of all sites found.
[*]sends mildly threatening "copyright infringement" form letter provided by legal department.
[*]does not at any time allow him/herself to make judgements about individual sites, because that would make him/her partially responsible for any consequences if he/she failed to send said letter when copyright infringement was actually occurring.
[/list]

Pretty standard stuff. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

 

[KoshN]

Eh?

Universal don't want the words "Miami Vice" to appear on a web site listing shows they'd like to see on DVD?

That really make no sense to, well, anyone, quite frankly.

Sounds like classic bureaucracy in action.

Under one possible scenario, a low-level employee:

<ul type="square">
[*]receives instructions to send letters to all non-official websites referencing show.
[*]does a Google search or something similar, and researches ownership of all sites found.
[*]sends mildly threatening "copyright infringement" form letter provided by legal department.
[*]does not at any time allow him/herself to make judgements about individual sites, because that would make him/her partially responsible for any consequences if he/she failed to send said letter when copyright infringement was actually occurring.
[/list]

Pretty standard stuff. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.

That could be, because The Rockford Files is up un the site, and it's a Universal property.
.
.
It's just that it makes no sense, what Universal is doing. It's silencing people who are just trying to say that they want one of their shows on DVD.

 

[AntonyF]

The owner of the site said apparantly Universal were fed up with requests for the DVD when they couldn't release them, so that's why they did it. Still, did they need to get legal?

 

[A_M_Swallow]

The owner of the site said apparantly Universal were fed up with requests for the DVD when they couldn't release them, so that's why they did it. Still, did they need to get legal?

Possibly not. It may be fun to get a studio into court and get them classified as a dirty dog/vexatious litigant i.e. is banned from suing again.