Posted February 16, 200619 yr comment_4524232 --WWE has hired MarkMonitor to monitor the sale of WWE goods on eBay. They're going after people who sell tapes in particular. I don't care who you are, that right there is funny.
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4524273 So wait. If I got on there to sell my master tape of the 99 Royal Rumble would that mean they'll be coming after me or get my sale taken off?
February 17, 200619 yr Author comment_4524297 They won't come after you, but I bet they'll get it taken down.
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4524350 Not that I sell any tapes on e-bay but this is just dumb. I can understand bootlegs but if I'm selling a master that I bought then I should be allowed to sell it if I don't want it anymore.
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4524368 I think they're more interested in the people who are bootlegging tapes rather than reselling their legitimate WWE stuff...
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4524371 You are. They can't stop you from selling your own master tape on eBay, and if they did get it taken down you'd have grounds for a legal challenge of some sort to eBay.
February 17, 200619 yr Author comment_4524374 You are allowed to sell masters, and if you wanted to go through eBay's convoluted dispute system you'd probably win, but WWE has been using a scortched earth philosophy for handling eBay auctions. I've heard people say they were selling masters and got their auctions ended since WWE's legal team basically squashes any auction with WWE or WWF in the title.
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4524851 Give it six months and you'll be able to post it. They do this every year for about three months, then forget about it for a while.
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4525210 There was a never a system in place that did the work for them, like MarkMonitor will do. What was labor and time with two or three employees becomes the ability to check a program and see the offensive auctions. I've heard people say they were selling masters and got their auctions ended since WWE's legal team basically squashes any auction with WWE or WWF in the title. Or someone sent a "TOS violation" report to eBay and they didn't bother to look at the offense.
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4525263 As long as they leave the master tapes alone, I'm all for this. Being someone who's seen the great variety of legit wrestling videos shrink and be lost in a sea of pirated videos and DVDs, this is a good thing. I'm not trying to block the dude making a few bucks from his copies, but there are some sellers on there who rake in hundreds monthly soley from burned DVDs and copied videos.
February 17, 200619 yr comment_4529281 I guess they're even attacking stuff they don't own. I saw a longer WON thing written and it sounds like they're going after wrestling tapes in general.
February 18, 200619 yr Author comment_4531463 Someone ran afoul of the WWE despite the fact that they had permission to sell the footage they were dealing in. Meltz speculated that WWE is going to try to go after anyone who sells footage that contains anyone under a WWE Legends contract, which would be pretty much any footage you come across. What's sad is despite the fact that doing that isn't even close to legal, eBay will never stand up for its users because they probably think all wrestling = WWE.
February 18, 200619 yr comment_4532734 And the first time it happens there's a potentially huge lawsuit against not only ebay but WWE as well. And a good lawyer would net you millions.
February 18, 200619 yr comment_4533733 The problem is that a *lot* of the footage sold on eBay is bootlegs of stuff owned by the WWE... I'm talking WWE shows, WCW shows, ECW shows, Jim Crockett Promotions shows, AWA shows, and several other libraries. WWE doesn't own Smokey Mountain, Mid-South / UWF, Championship Wrestling from Florida, World Class, and several other big-name promotions, but has attempted to buy several of them in the past. A good test-case would involve someone legally selling pre-recorded WWE tapes. The *best* test-case would involve someone selling pre-recorded tapes of stuff Vince does NOT own. The Wrestling Gold series with Memphis, Southwestern Championship Wrestling, Smokey Mountain Wrestling, and Ohio Valley Wrestling footage comes to mind.
February 18, 200619 yr comment_4535270 I think WWE does own Smokey Mountain. Jim Cornette still owned the Smokey Mountain footage as of the past few years. IIRC, he still sells old Smokey Mountain footage through the OVW site. (He still owns part of OVW even though the WWE refuses to let him work there anymore.) He may license footage to them at a bargain rate because he works with them but I'm sure he still insisted on owning the original footage and the rights.
