Sorry if this has been asked before. My wife and I have noticed the disclaimer "This DVD is for Sale Only" playing on a couple of DVDs we have rented recently -- from our local video store, from Redbox, and from Netflix. What does this mean, exactly? Are these rental places illegally renting copies of DVDs that they were intended for retail sale only? Are viewers like me supposed to report them when we see this disclaimer?

Odd...

Those disclaimers aren't legally enforceable. Once you buy a DVD, you don't need permission from the studios to rent or sell it.

If it's not enforceable, then why do the studios bother? What are the movie studios losing when Netflix rents a "for sale only" DVD?

My guess would be rental revenue. But that's really just a guess...I can't imagine the studio is getting rental revenue out of it if they didn't distribute it to Netflix to rent out and Netflix just decided to buy a bunch of copies instead.

See, what I find odd is that if it was legally enforceable, while I'd understand if someone selling stuff under the table were to get overlooked, I'd find it harder to believe that studio would sit idly as Blockbuster and Netflix, gigantic chains, would release them.

DVD "McCarthyism" .... hell ya I would turn them in. It's also good practice for the beginning stages of the new Obama plan - of recruiting new members into the American civilian security corp ....coming to a theater near you very soon. Don't hold back, Mr. Flix ....nail Netflix, Redbox and your local rental establishment all at once ....and quick before it becomes prevalent. We all want to make sure you are never able to rent again because it's against the law.

....and feel good about your decision either way. Beneficial to mankind.

By the way ... are the discs you're being rented clear silver with Memorex or Verbatim written on the faceplate ...???? ...or do they seem professionally pressed??

They probably say "Made in U.S.A." "Printed in Japan".

James

Netflix has been known to buck the rules before. I recall when Mirimax inked an exclusive deal with Blockbuster where Blockbuster would get exclusive rights to the rental of their products but Netflix just bought retail copies of the same titles and rented those out instead. I know Mirimax, in that situation, was going to go after Netflix because they were losing rental revenue. I have no idea what ever came of it, or perhaps it's still tied up in some legal battle.

And the studios don't sit idly by. Just because they are renting the product out doesn't mean they are getting away with it. Sometimes this stuff takes time to clear up in the legal system.

I do know Disney and Blockbuster had some shaky relations over the years because Blockbuster wasn't paying their rental revenue to Disney or something like that. (It may have been revenue on sold previously viewed product. Now when you walk into a Blockbuster you see previewed Disney titles for $19.99 or higher...they have to pay dues back to Disney.

That's also why some studios don't allow Blockbuster to put their titles out for previously viewed to sell and require them to destroy the discs and send them back, because Blockbuster likes to make money off the previewed products and not pay revenue back to the studios. That doesn't mean the studios sit idly by...you just don't know what they are doing about it because it's not up front.

The Weinstein Company made a 4-year exclusive with Blockbuster for rentals only and their DVDs have had this disclaimer of late. As far as I know the exclusive only gave Blockbuster the "discount/deals/buy-backs, etc." with Weinstein and didn't legally prevent other rental companies/firms from buying their own copies at whatever going price they could get and then renting them out.