You know how sometimes you turn on the TV, and it’s still on 16:9 mode, but you’re just watching the news? And the people are all kinda squashed, but you don’t feel like picking the remote up and hitting the picture mode button? Yes? So, sir, you are confessing that you willfully modified the original copyrighted image, without the consent of the creator. It’s a good thing you weren’t running a for-profit business or I might have to charge you. Move along now, and don’t let me catch you again.
Seriously, that appears to be the case according to the manual for a projector, which warns against using the aspect ratio button if using the projector in any commercial circumstances. After all, if the original content is 4:3 and you show it in 16:9, you are technically modifying the work. There is some kind of logic there, but it’s kind of like a warning on a mask that it may be illegal to use this mask during a bank robbery. Technically they’re correct, but that’s not really the point.
I don’t want to get into a discussion of the definition of fair use, since that’s not really the issue here. I’m not even sure what the issue really is. All I know is that when you’ve got a warning to this effect, something’s gone seriously wrong somewhere along the line.
[via Boing to the Boing]
That is the typical warning put there because of some stupid complaint the manufacturer would rather not hear again.
Something along the lines of “Peanut Butter. Warning: this product contains peanuts.”
And DO NOT change contrast/sharpness or volume level!
hahahahah
i seriously lol’d just now that was funny
Exactly… changing the contrast/sharpness may cause white drop shadows to appear on everything.
Welcome to the 21st Century where every company in the world seems to have more rights than you the person who purchased an item does.
By this logic it would also be illegal to dog ear a book, or highlight a passage, and god forbid write notes in the margins.
Enough already.
OMG – WOMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN! ON THE INTERWEBS! AND SHES TALKING TO ME!!
Most companies are protective of their brand logos (and rightly so); If your brand logo is stretched out of it’s original proportions then that is bad. this issue is likely to need addressing by those resonsibly for deploying content across signage networks where resolution and aspect ratio are inconsistent. Remember some of the older plasma screens which were physically 16:9 however their resolution was XGA ie 4:
3 -these are the main culprits for showing everything stetched. I think it’s going to be good practice to be mindfully about this issue especially for digital signage.
The problem is that ‘copyright’ as a system has been abused by people for their own gain, mainly profit (naturally), which is why we are in the mess we are in at the moment. Check out this article at The Music Void and see if you agree – http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/02/copyright-is-so-damn-annoying/