>The reason that these players are not allowed on EBay has nothing to do with what you are saying. EBay outlawed their sale because the AD-1500 and its predecessor the AD-600 violate crazy amounts of copyright laws of Macrovision and the MPAA. The MPAA is furious because it gives you the easiest way to play bootleg movies. I mean what else do you use SVCD's for? Jeez....
> Sorry DealLuker...
Sorry, Maxint..
That was the ORIGINAL reason they were cancelled back in their hey-day.... However Macrovision is no longer out VeROing them... Philips is... And it's not just the ones that are hackable or upgradable or have the hiden menus. It's all of them. I know personally as I had an Auction VeRO'd and so have TONS of others.
(In fact they are LEAVING the rom chip upgrades to enable hacking in place... Philips only cares about the DVD Players themselves. In addition, last I heard most Oritrons don't have hidden menus with disabling features)
Links:
Nerd-Out thread about harrassment from Philips:
http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16118&highlight=philips
Philip's "AboutMe" page on eBay:
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/kevin410
excerpt:
U.S. Philips Corporation is the owner of patents covering DVD technology and has invested untold resources in this technology for all to enjoy. Philips offers licenses to these patents on reasonable and non-discriminitory conditions to manufacturers of DVD Players and DVD ROM drives.
There are several DVD Player manufacturers which have chosen not to become licensed. They would rather appropriate the technology of others than to engage in R&D efforts. This can not be tolerated by a society that needs to innovate to survive.
Useful Links include:
http://www.apexdigitalinc.com/html/contact.html http://www.oritron.com
And eBay's letter to me:
Dear ###,
We regret to inform you that your listing:
### APEX DVD Player
Has been ended at the request of U.S Philips Corporation, a member of eBay's Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program, because they filed a sworn statement that it offers a product or contains material which violates their copyright, trademark or other rights. In the interest of protecting all eBay users, we end such listings to avoid any association with potentially infringing or unlawful items.
And Philip's Response to my inquiries:
Dear XXX :
Thank you for your inquiry. I apologize for the inconvenience that this auction cancellation has caused you and your good customers.
The DVD player which you are attempting to sell infringes numerous patents held by Philips and other companies. The U.S. patent law allows patent holders to prevent the sale of any item that infringes their patent(s).
Philips encourages many brands of players to be available lawfully in the market. Philips has no interest in preventing the free trade of DVD players. We offer a license under our patents for DVD player manufacturers on reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions.
Numerous companies are licensed. Other have chosen to ignore the rights of patent owners. Unfortunately, the manufacturer of your player, unlike many of its competitors, has chosen not to be licensed. It is the manufacturer of the player who is unlicensed, and therefore ANY sale of the product infringes our patents (NOT trademarks). The patents are on the DVD technology.
Please understand that Philips spent great effort developing the DVD related technology for all to enjoy. The patents are one way that research companies like Philips are able and encouraged to develop new products.
For your information, I access eBay daily for new listings for Apex and Oritron DVD player auctions. A letter/email is sent to eBay from me advising them that certain auctions are apparently infringing our patents. It is my understanding that eBay then has 24-48 hours in which to respond by cancelling these infringing auctions. All I do is notify eBay -- the rest is up to them.
I'm sorry for your frustration and sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to you and your prospective buyers. I do sympathize with your situation, but I am not at liberty to discuss the subject of your comments regarding other retailers at this time. I can say, however, that I believe our company is working on this issue on many levels and we are in the process of legal notification to infringers. The eBay notifications are very quick and expedient. Unfortunately, other legal processes work much more slowly.
We are sorry for this inconvenience to you, but at this time you cannot sell this DVD player on eBay.
I hope this answers your questions. Thanks for your understanding.
NOTE: PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ACCORDING TO EBAY POLICIES, A RELISTING OF THIS ITEM MAY RESULT IN A SUSPENSION BY EBAY OF YOUR AUCTION PRIVILEGES ON EBAY.
Regards,
Ginger Affolter
IP Assistant
Philips Intellectual Property & Standards
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NORTH AMERICA CORP.
1000 W. Maude Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085-2810
E-mail:
ginger.affolter@philips.com
Web-site:
www.licensing.philips.com
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