Restricted for 3 days.....For What? Who deems these to be prohibited?

[drive-infilm]

I sell nothing but Public Domain movies and footage and have for over 24 years but every once in a while, somebody says an item is Pirated or bootleged or something but these are all known public domain items so how do I appeal? I am tired of someone saying I sell pirated or bootlegs when I don't. Case in point....the movie "Godzilla vs Megalon" which is public domain and a million copies out there for sale.....

https://retrofilmvault.com/public-domain-films/public-domain-horror-movies-1970s.html

[evelyb30]

Short answer: you don't.  It doesn't even matter if an item is in the public domain. If the bots take it down, down it stays.  The best you can do is get hold of eBay for Business on Facebook and give them exact facts and figures and ask for a removal of all dings against you. Do not EVER relist any removed items.  You are now on eBay's bots' radar and said items will just be taken down again and your account suspended.  Bots are bots and bots are DUMB.  

The only thing that surprises me is you've gone this long without a takedown. 

[richard1rst]

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@drive-infilm wrote:

I sell nothing but Public Domain movies and footage and have for over 24 years but every once in a while, somebody says an item is Pirated or bootleged or something but these are all known public domain items so how do I appeal? I am tired of someone saying I sell pirated or bootlegs when I don't. Case in point....the movie "Godzilla vs Megalon" which is public domain and a million copies out there for sale.....

https://retrofilmvault.com/public-domain-films/public-domain-horror-movies-1970s.html

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Hate to burst your bubble but there is a caveat:

According to the U S District Court case Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.

any process, however technically complex or laborious, that produces or attempts to produce an exact reproduction of the original, or as near to an exact reproduction as the medium and technology allows. Such copies are often in a different medium than the original source. Therefore, an exact or designedly exact conversion of a work to another medium does not produce an original work, and no separate copyright attaches. If the original work is not under copyright, neither is the converted copy.

However, additions to the copy, such a a menu, or added captions, may be protected by copyright.

Additionally, a modicum of creativity is necessary to transfer the original film to DVD or Blu-Ray, and that is all that is required to make the DVD and/or Blu-Ray protected by copyright.

Since you are selling DVDs and Blu-Rays it would seem that all of your listings are subject to take downs. Best you consult with a lawyer.

https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/25417/is-it-legal-to-distribute-any-version-of-a-public-doma...

[carolynnq]

If I'm reading that article correctly, it is saying that if someone transfers a public domain movie to another format  (e.g., blu ray), that the blu ray product is not a new work and is not copyrightable. It's not saying that public domain movies can't be sold.

[fashunu4eeuh]

The risk is that even if the takedown was an eBay error, if relisted, it may get taken down again with a 7 day suspension tacked on. Below is the policy with more details. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/removed-listings?id=4656

[stainlessenginecovers]

If they are 'public domain' because nobody 'copyrighted' the movie; who in their right mind would PAY for them when they are readily available for free???

Like paying for the oxygen in the air....

[mn467462]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

Who in their right mind would PAY for them when they are readily available for free???

Like paying for the oxygen in the air....

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Lots of people pay for oxygen. And they have the medical bills to prove it. The air we breathe isn't 100% oxygen. The air we breathe is only about 20% oxygen. Even in water, in every molecule, there's 2 hydrogen atoms for every 1 oxygen atom. Oxygen, even though we need it to survive, rapidly ages you. Believe me, look at someone on an oxygen tank, and you'll see how old they look. If you were breathing 100% oxygen, you would start seeing wrinkles developing rapidly that normally take decades to occur. 

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[toomuchstuffagain35]

Just because they become Public Domain doesn't mean they're freely available, especially not in a form we use nowadays like dvd/bluray.

[mam98031]

In your title you asked why you got restricted for three days.  It appears you actually do know why you got restricted.  If you have multiple Vero violations or Ebay warnings that you didn't get overturned in appeal, then your repeated actions is what got you to where you currently are.

And if you continue to ignore them you will get suspended again for a longer period of time.  Which in a short period of time you could find yourself suspended from selling on this site for good.

Be careful and start trying to get each of those warnings appealed and off your record.

[richard1rst]

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@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:

Just because they become Public Domain doesn't mean they're freely available, especially not in a form we use nowadays like dvd/bluray.

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On just one of the sites I access online there are over 53,000 movies and 16,000 TV series available to watch for free. No subscription fees, no pay per view fees, nada. As an added bonus both the movies and the TV series are shown completely commercial free. And that is just one of the sites I can access.

I have no interest in downloading them but if I chose to, since they would load to my computer, I can then burn it to a DVD.

[wildhorsesigns]

People pay for water all the time, and it is free out of your tap!