Piracy in the Motion Picture Industry (Paperback)

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Product Description

Film piracy began almost immediately after the birth of the film industry. Initially it was a within-the-industry phenomenon as studios stole from each other. As the industry grew and more money was involved, outsiders became more interested in piracy. Stolen material made its way offshore since detection was less likely. Hollywood’s major film studios vigorously pursued pirates and had the situation fairly well under control by the middle 1970s—not eliminated but reduced to a low level—until videocassettes arrived.

This work begins with a discussion of some of the earliest cases of piracy in vaudeville, and then considers how the problem continued to grow caused by the lack of legal resource available to performers, and the ways film exhibitors cheated the film distributors and companies and the measures that the distributors and companies took to prevent piracy over the years. Also examined are the practices of American theater owners who tried to cheat Hollywood, especially through the practice known as bicycling—extra, unpaid for screenings of a legitimately held film—and altering paperwork to reduce the money owed to distributors on films screened on percentage contracts. Also examined, to a lesser degree, are Hollywood’s own efforts to cheat, including the disregard of copyrights held by others.

About the Author

Kerry Segrave is also the author of these McFarland titles: Vending Machines (2002), Age Discrimination by Employers (2001), Shoplifting: A Social History (2001), Movies at Home (1999), and Tipping (1998), among other works exploring American culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (January 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786414731
• ISBN-13: 978-0786414734
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #180,807 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellant Resource, April 1, 2004

By	Geoff Ayers (Cape Elizabeth, Maine United States) - See all my reviews

This book has been a source of virtually infinite information. I strongly recommend this to anyone researching this facinating subject.

A bit dry, though. I would not read this for strictly pleasure.