Sony Claims To Offer Subs 'Appropriate Value' For Deleting Digital Libraries (arstechnica.com) 36
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Sony is making an effort to appease customers who will lose their entire Funimation digital libraries when the anime streaming service merges into Crunchyroll. Currently, though, the company's plan for giving disappointed customers "an appropriate value" for their erased digital copies isn't very accessible or clear. Earlier this month, Sony-owned Funimation announced that customers' digital libraries would be unavailable starting on April 2. At that time, Funimation accounts will become Crunchyroll accounts. Sony acquired Crunchyroll in 2021, so some sort of merging of the services was expected. However, less expected was customers' lost access to online copies of beloved anime that they acquired through digital codes provided in purchased Funimation DVDs or Blu-rays. Funimation for years claimed that customers would be able to stream these copies "forever, but there are some restrictions."
Rahul Purini, Crunchyroll's president, explained the decision while speaking to The Verge's latest Decoder podcast, noting that the feature was incorporated into the Funimation platform. "As we look at usage of that and the number of people who were redeeming those and using them, it was just not a feature that was available in Crunchyroll and isn't in our road map," Purini said. The executive claimed that Funimation is "working really hard directly" with each affected customer to "ensure that they have an appropriate value for what they got in the digital copy initially." When asked what "appropriate value" means, Purini responded: "It could be that they get access to a digital copy on any of the existing other services where they might be able to access it. It could be a discount access to our subscription service so they can get access to the same shows through our subscription service. So we are trying to make it right based on each user's preference."
It could be that they get access to a digital copy on any of the existing other services where they might be able to access it. It could be a discount access to our subscription service so they can get access to the same shows through our subscription service. So we are trying to make it right based on each user's preference. Clarifying further, Purini confirmed that this means that Sony is willing to provide affected customers with a new digital copy via a streaming service other than Crunchyroll. The executive said that the company is handling subscribers' requests as they reach out to customer service. Notably, this approach to compensating customers for removing access to something that they feel like they purchased (digital copies are considered a free addition to the physical copies, but some people might not have bought the discs if they didn't come with a free digital copy) puts the responsibility on customers to reach out. Ahead of Purini's interview, Sony didn't publicly announce that it would offer customers compensation. And since Funimation's terms of use include caveats that content may be removed at any time, customers might have thought that they have no path for recourse.
Rahul Purini, Crunchyroll's president, explained the decision while speaking to The Verge's latest Decoder podcast, noting that the feature was incorporated into the Funimation platform. "As we look at usage of that and the number of people who were redeeming those and using them, it was just not a feature that was available in Crunchyroll and isn't in our road map," Purini said. The executive claimed that Funimation is "working really hard directly" with each affected customer to "ensure that they have an appropriate value for what they got in the digital copy initially." When asked what "appropriate value" means, Purini responded: "It could be that they get access to a digital copy on any of the existing other services where they might be able to access it. It could be a discount access to our subscription service so they can get access to the same shows through our subscription service. So we are trying to make it right based on each user's preference."
It could be that they get access to a digital copy on any of the existing other services where they might be able to access it. It could be a discount access to our subscription service so they can get access to the same shows through our subscription service. So we are trying to make it right based on each user's preference. Clarifying further, Purini confirmed that this means that Sony is willing to provide affected customers with a new digital copy via a streaming service other than Crunchyroll. The executive said that the company is handling subscribers' requests as they reach out to customer service. Notably, this approach to compensating customers for removing access to something that they feel like they purchased (digital copies are considered a free addition to the physical copies, but some people might not have bought the discs if they didn't come with a free digital copy) puts the responsibility on customers to reach out. Ahead of Purini's interview, Sony didn't publicly announce that it would offer customers compensation. And since Funimation's terms of use include caveats that content may be removed at any time, customers might have thought that they have no path for recourse.
Logo (Score:5, Informative)
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moron
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(it's an old joke from the editors -- you'll get used to it)
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Jokes are supposed to be funny.
Hopefully they are not offering it on CrunchyRoll. (Score:1)
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Is there a problem going directly to the site and using it that way? Must you use a third party to watch the videos? Is there an issue using a browser?
Re: Hopefully they are not offering it on CrunchyR (Score:3)
You will get nothing (Score:3)
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"You will get what we think you will like"
You don't own your digital content (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: You don't own your digital content (Score:2)
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Physical media is still "digital".
Even Digital Video Discs (DVDs) are digital.
Digital is the opposite of analog, not the opposite of offline.
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Just wanted to add that DVD actually meant Digital Versatile Disc.
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Correct, but not helping.
"Appropriate Value" a definition. (Score:3)
"Appropriate Value" in this situation must be analyzed from Sony's perspective. Since digital libraries not tied directly to a continual for-profit revenue generator, i.e. a subscription, contain nearly no value for Sony, an "appropriate value" for the loss of your entire digital library is approximately as much effort as it takes to send an email saying, "You lost your library. HA HA, SUCKER!" In fact, that is a negative value to the company, so could you maybe send a little something to Sony for their loss?
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We should take the MAFIAA definition of value here. Sony promised to stream those videos to the customer, for free, forever. So it's the value of a stream, around $150,000 (the maximum penalty for copyright infringement), multiplied by the infinite number of times you are allowed to view it.
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We should take the MAFIAA definition of value here. Sony promised to stream those videos to the customer, for free, forever. So it's the value of a stream, around $150,000 (the maximum penalty for copyright infringement), multiplied by the infinite number of times you are allowed to view it.
I see you misunderstand corporate value vs. consumer value. The value of those videos to the consumer could never be more than whatever it retailed for, while the value to the corporation, since they own the property and aren't just a licensee, is immeasurable. There are ZERO courts anywhere in the world that would side with the consumer if they attempted to sue for the value media companies place on downloaded content. None. Zippo. You'd be laughed out of the lawyer's office, let alone the court.
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I was joking. Even the MAFIAA got laughed out of court when they tried to claim a loss greater than the value of everything on the entire planet.
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I was joking. Even the MAFIAA got laughed out of court when they tried to claim a loss greater than the value of everything on the entire planet.
This is the internet. We don't have time for jokes!
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I know it's a joke, but I'd love to see a lawsuit where the customers used these greedy media companies' own piracy loss damages figures against them.
I demand full value, and am not settling for less (Score:3)
It said appropriate value for subs, and I'm holding them to it.
A destroyer is inadequate compensation for a sub; I demand a heavy cruiser for each submarine they take! :)
hawk
Oh, I would *LOVE* to see this play out... (Score:5, Interesting)
Step 1: have receipts for all Funimation purchases indicating proof of purchase.
Step 2: receive 'appropriate value' from Sony. Get receipts.
Step 3: go to TPB or some other public tracker and download *exactly* the same files which were purchased from step 1.
Step 4: Send Sony a file list in a screenshot from a torrent client, along with contact information.
Step 5: Get served with lawsuit papers from Sony for some unfathomable amount of money.
Step 6: Go to court, provide judge with paperwork from Step 1 and Step 2, and offer to write Sony a check for the amount shown in step 2 to settle the lawsuit.
Step 7a: If the judge upholds the payment equal to the 'appropriate value', watch Sony's lawyers squirm.
Step 7b: If the judge upholds the suit for some extremely high sum, have everyone else sue Sony for failing to provide an 'appropriate amount'.
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You are an idiot to think that this will in any way work out for you.
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Somewhere around step 6 Sony's lawyers would bitch-slap you so hard you'd wake up six years later wondering what happened. Unless you're already someone capable of hiring an entire team of amazing lawyers yourself. In which case you probably just contacted Sony with the proper flash of cash and got whatever you wanted. See how easy capitalism with no regulation is? If you have money, you win. If you have less money? Too bad, so sad, try again in another life.
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They sue you for uploading to peers, not downloading.
Better plan: get what you paid for and never bother anybody with the details.
They can make paying for content a better exprience than 'pirating' if they want to.
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They sue you for uploading to peers, not downloading.
Yup, that's the problem inherent to using torrents for piracy. You're facilitating copyright infringement by participating in the swarm. Have to use a VPN or seedbox service so any potential nastygrams get routed to /dev/nul.
There's also always the option of bringing your laptop and catching up on your "WFH" while you enjoy a beverage at Starbucks.
Keeping access to digital stuff is hard (Score:2)
There is no such thing as "buying" or "owning" stuff that is stored on, or authorized by, a remote server, it's all rental
As for physical media, you need a compatible, working player
Archivists understand this and work hard to save what they can, but much of todays digital content will evaporate over time
I am altering the deal. (Score:2)
--Darth Vader, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Change their service (Score:2)
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Well, they should make a change to their crunchyroll service which will make it that people who owned the content on funimation will also 'own' the content on crunchyroll,
When the first announced that Sony was buying Crunchyroll, they actually stated all that purchased content would eventually make it onto your Crunchyroll library - I remember reading it in one of their FAQs (I was looking because I was going to be affected). So it really is a case of "altering the deal".
This just further justifies, in my mind, my years-ago decision to always immediately rip any new DVDs or Blu-Rays I purchase. And I haven't purchased a digital-only movie or show since Requiem shut down... a
Full Refund with Interest (Score:1)
Everyone should be offered a full refund of the original purchase price with interest if Sony does not want to make the original content available.
Of course, years later, Sony might not have the same content available or would have to re-purchase it themselves. But surely those highly paid execs thought of this 20-30 years ago and have reserves set aside.