Grace Fellowship of South Forsyth

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ClearPlay

by 5 Comments

In keeping with the family friendly entertainment theme….

I noticed that the courts just struck a devastating blow to the companies that sanitize commercial DVD releases, removing the objectionable content. A perfect example is Titanic. Suppose you would like to watch the film, but prefer not to see the nudity in the portrait scene. There are companies that will sell you a version of the movie with that scene deleted or altered to remove the nudity.

I’ve never bought or rented a modified film, but we do subscribe to service called ClearPlay that is similar, but different enough to not be affected by this ruling. ClearPlay is different in that it does not alter the film. You play the standard DVD, but the DVD player contains firmware that reads a filter file that allows you to skip scenes that you do not wish to view. They have filters for hundreds of movies. There are 14 categories that you can select to skip.

Comments

  1. Because of some extreme weirdness in our blogging software. I couldn’t add the last paragraph to my post, which should read…

    If you turn all of the filters on and play a movie with lots of adult language and themes, the it will get pretty choppy, but it is very effective for removing gratuitous sex from an otherwise decent film.

    Reply

  3. “The slogan on the CleanFlicks Web site is ‘It’s About Choice.'”

    Sounds like it’s more about copyright laws. I think it’s great as long as they have permission to do so but as an artist I have to side with the judge on this one.

    Imagine if people started editting all those objectionable Christian allegories out of Narnia or the final resurrection scene out of The Passion of the Christ without permission and started selling it.

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  5. I got this email from ClearPlay…

    Why Not ClearPlay?

    As you might have read, last week Judge Matsch of the Colorado District Court issued a scathing, one-sided ruling against companies that sell or rent edited DVD’s, including Clean Flicks and Clean Films. The order was so onerous that it gave the companies only five days to pack up all edited DVD’s and ship them to the Hollywood studios which opposed the companies in the litigation.

    You may remember that ClearPlay was originally involved in this case when it began in 2002. In the early stages, ClearPlay petitioned the court to draw a meaningful distinction between our technology and the edited movie companies. As a result, ClearPlay spent three years fighting Hollywood, while the edited movie side of the case was essentially put on hold.

    Our legal position was distinctly different than Clean Flicks. We argued that ClearPlay does not make a “derivative work;” that our technology merely enables families in their homes to customize the playback of movies. ClearPlay is not unlike a very intelligent remote control, skipping and muting over unwanted segments. In contrast, Clean Flicks focused on their “fair use” right to make copies of movies, even though they may be derivative works.

    Before the judge could rule on the ClearPlay side of the case, Congress stepped in and passed The Family Movie Act of 2005, which clarified the right of families to control the media in their homes. This was a fundamental right and an important issue for many members of Congress. As a result of that bill, Judge Matsch dismissed all Hollywood claims against ClearPlay in August 2005, then turned his attention to the case against the edited movie companies, culminating in last week’s ruling.

    As of the writing of this newsletter, it’s not clear whether Clean Flicks and Clean Films will appeal the ruling or not, or whether the judge will grant them a stay of injunction even if they do. In any event, we applaud their valiant efforts to sacrifice and fight for a product and service that they believe in and that is good for families. We know how difficult it is to wage these wars. The founders, employees, investors and customers of these companies should be proud of what they have done.

    If in fact the injunction holds, it would leave ClearPlay as the only company offering this type of product to families. We have paid a great price to be here, but work every day to bring you the best movie experiences possible. We anticipate continued advances and improvements in our products and technologies. To Clean Flicks and Clean Films customers who may convert, we welcome you. To our current customers, thank you for your participation. We look forward to a long relationship.

    Sincerely,
    Bill Aho
    CEO, ClearPlay Inc.

    Reply

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