Richard Montague Powell, 66, was arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Charleston on charges that he made up to $250,000 by pirating copies of Walt Disney's motion picture "Song of the South."
I guess crime doesn't pay. But then, the fine is $250,000 and he made up to $250,000. So he'd come out even, unless he has to do five years in the can.
Goose Creek man accused of pirating 'Song of South' film
Lowcountry resident could get prison if convicted of violating federal copyright laws
BY NITA BIRMINGHAM
Of The Post and Courier
Even sly Brer Rabbit might have a tough time getting out of the fix a Goose Creek man has found himself in.
Richard Montague Powell, 66, was arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Charleston on charges that he made up to $250,000 by pirating copies of Walt Disney's motion picture "Song of the South."
If convicted of violating federal copyright laws, Powell faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A search of Powell's residence turned up hundreds of unauthorized copies of the motion picture on DVD and VHS, according to U.S. Attorney Strom Thurmond Jr. Numerous firearms also were seized.
Powell may have netted a small fortune -- as much as $250,000 -- from sales of the movie over a three-year period, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Powell's address wasn't given, and he could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
The case is being investigated by agents of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
"Song of the South," a live-action feature, is not available for purchase through Disney, although numerous Internet sites list it for sale. The film was released in 1946 and was last reissued in 1986.
A Web site dedicated to the film speculates that Disney decided not to reissue "Song of the South" after 1986 because of negative feedback that it is a "racial" film.
The film was released on video and laserdisc in foreign countries, but not in the United States, according to Songofthesouth.net.
It was withdrawn worldwide in December 2001.
In the film, a boy named Johnny learns lessons about life through the stories of Uncle Remus.
In one story, Brer Rabbit was able to outfox the fox and escape being eaten.
this article seems kinda fluffy also. i imagine this charge carries a fine up to 250,000 bucks and up to 5 years. if you follow this case closely you may find out that in the end that depending on what they were storming his house for--guns-which they found numerous- or dvds which were most likely stumbled upon while seizing the house for guns. either way you may see some lesser charges dropped in order to get a plea for the more serious. anyway, i wouldn't see this as any sort of triumph in the bootleg battle. nor would i see it as the beginning of a trend of arrests and convictions for this sort of thing.
Isn't it ironic that the Song of the South Pirate comes from the most Southern of southern US places (Goose Creek, SC near Charleston, SC where the US Civil War started (for those of you who aren't as familiar as you should be with US history)). Also, his attorney is Strom Thurmond Jr., son of the late Strom Thurmond, former segragationalist Dixie-crat turned Republican.
I had seen the website many times, but never knew where the person was from....
Wow! someone's in big trouble.
That's what you get for doing something illegal.
Why can't he just wait for "Songs of the South" to come out on DVD?
Then he could sell all the extra copies he bought.
Some people would do anything to get money.
I'm glad I'm not in his shoes.
But I do feel sorry for him 5 years in jail.
The Simpsons Season 11 Buy it Now!
Fox Sunday lineup:
8:00 The Simpsons
8:30 King of the Hill
9:00 Family Guy
9:30 American Dad
Hypothetically yes. But as the ad does not make it clear it is illegal. In fact the ad said it was a Disney distributed DVD to Asia. It would be a very difficult case to prove and not worth the courts time.
In fact, I live in Canada and some of Canada's piracy laws have been struck down by the Supreme Court, although that might have been just for music swapping.
You know, the interesting thing to me is that Eisner and crew, who are usually all about the dollar, haven't released the darn thing. Case in point -- this SC man made $250,000 selling copies of this disc.
He obviously didn't have the full marketing force of Disney behind him or the distribution channels that a Walmart or Amazon.com would provide. Plus, his purchasers actually had to break the law to get the movie!!! And he still made $250,000!!!!
I dare say Disney could make a huge profit if and when the dvd is released.
I think Eisner's just as much about the politics (not talking Rep/Dem) as he is the dollar. They probably really struggle with that conflict up at Disney brass.
I'm a little unclear... was the guy in this article the one who actually ran songofthesouthdvd.com, or has that site just gone down kind of in fear now that this news has broken?
I own 4 Bottleg Movies which are my Horsemasters, Child Of Glass, Dr Syn Alias The Scarecrow DVD's and my Song Of The South VHS could I get thrown into Prison ?
"I have this tremendous energy. I just loved and love life. I love it today. I never want to die."
~Jayne Meadows Allen~
Disney Guru - no gaurantees(and by the way I am not a lawyer) but highly unlikely. Law enforcement is far more interested in the distributors than the buyers. With someone who owns a very small quantity it would be 1) Very hard to prove intent to buy illegal bootlegs. For instance, if you went to this guys web-site and purchased Song of the South how does a prosecuter prove that you knew they were illegal bootlegs when the web site does not say they are illegal.Especially if you own 100 real DVDs and four illegal bootlegs. You could show you were acting in good faith. Especially with the quality of bootlegs. How can somebody know. Look at all the uncertainty on this web site. Almost impossible to prove that case. Of course with the distributor it is relatively easy to prove he knew he was breaking the law.
2) It really isnt worth law enforcements time for such a small amount.
3) In many jurisdictions it is not illegal to own them. It is not even illegal to make them in all jurisdictions. What is illegal is to use the US Postal system to distribute them.
Anders M Olsson wrote:Wouldn't he most likely have to pay damages in addition to the fines?
And that might add up to much more that the 250,000 ... ?
Lawyer hat goes on
Well, only if Disney pursue a CIVIL case in addition to the criminal charges against him.
The threshold is lower in a civil case (balance of probabilities) than it is in a criminal case (beyond reasonable doubt). Disney may seek to pursue this, but then they may think the criminal case is enough to prove their point. (Mind you, US law may be slightly different).
As for making $250k and the fine only being $250k, my guess is that he may still be up the proverbial creek. I don't think they will let him pay for the fine with the profits of the illegal activity for which he was fined.
On a related note...
Do you think the sudden pressing of charges (although it was illegal the whole time, Disney had to be aware of it) indicates a Disney who are newly considering exploiting the product for their own purposes? I wouldn't be surprised if Disney releases their own DVD in the next year or so...
Loomis, very good point, and one that hadn't really occured to me. The possibility really makes me happy, but I have to wonder what would make them just suddenly change their minds now, if that is indeed the case.
Loomis - yes excellent point. Disney is filled with lawyers who have pursued some very frivilous intellectual property suites over the years.
This guy obviously was not hard to find. It is not hard to follow registration path. The website is actually registered to a Michael Swan of get this 24 Brer Rabbit Road. Somehow I dont think that is his real address. But I am sure the cops can follow it to the service provider and get his real info.
Disney could have done it any point they wanted to. So why now? We no Leonard Maltin wants to. We know the NAACP is recently on record saying they have no objection.
And just for the record. My bootleg copy will be destroyed the day Disney releases it. At that point I believe I would be morally in the wrong to own it.
I own 4 Bottleg Movies which are my Horsemasters, Child Of Glass, Dr Syn Alias The Scarecrow DVD's and my Song Of The South VHS could I get thrown into Prison ?
