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As you may have heard, DVDTalk is in some legal trouble over Speedy's ads.

They have locked down the CC threads and such, and the speculation in the DVDTalk thread seems to focus on the copyright laws regarding posting pictures or text from the ads, and specifically the recent PS3 price drop announcement.

DVDTalk Owner Geoff has said this:

I appreciate all your feedback on this issue. Unfortunately since there's actual legal action here on behalf of Circuit City it goes beyond a cease and desist and thus an immediate need to act. My attorney has advised me not to comment further on the details of a pending legal matter. Rest assured we're working on it. I appreciate your patience in this matter. Geoff

While I don't want to hit the panic alarm, I think this is concerning... considering Speedy posts them there and here (and I believe these are the only 2 sites he does). I thought it was worth bringing up to the community.

Yes, this certainly caught my attention. From what's been discussed so far, Cheapy's been notified. Some members believe that removing, or at least closing, Speedy's current threads would be advisable.

Took them long enough to raise a fuss... I bet Sony whined.

Jesus if speedy actually got sued for helping CC's advertising wouldn't that be true corporate idiocy?

I think we should all of us, everyone from CAG, DVDTalk, FW, SD, and any other bargain sites, should all chip in $5 to try to help speedy, if indeed this does go through; think of all he's done for the bargain community, you owe him, at the very least that small contribution

Originally Posted by Moxio Yes, this certainly caught my attention. From what's been discussed so far, Cheapy's been notified. Some members believe that removing, or at least closing, Speedy's current threads would be advisable.

That would appear to be the best course of action given the situation.

Originally Posted by I AM WILLIAM H. MACY Jesus if speedy actually got sued for helping CC's advertising wouldn't that be true corporate idiocy? I think we should all of us, everyone from CAG, DVDTalk, FW, SD, and any other bargain sites, should all chip in $5 to try to help speedy, if indeed this does go through; think of all he's done for the bargain community, you owe him, at the very least that small contribution

I don't believe he is the one with legal action against him. It's DVDTalk.

Yeah, I know all about it. I'll update you when I can.
At this point, I will not lock down or remove the threads.

One thing I will mention, is that I do not believe the DVDtalk management has been specific at all about the pending legal action, so all of that discussion thread is just speculation from their users.
Hopefully, we can avoid that kind of talk here.

Originally Posted by botticus Took them long enough to raise a fuss... I bet Sony whined.

I bet they didn't. Not a single other company EXCEPT Circuit City has said anything about the weekly ads. This is 100% all Circuit City's doing.

Originally Posted by CheapyD Yeah, I know all about it. I'll update you when I can.

Thanks Cheapy!

Originally Posted by mtxbass1 I bet they didn't. Not a single other company EXCEPT Circuit City has said anything about the weekly ads. This is 100% all Circuit City's doing.

Then why wait until now? Outside influence is not out of the question, especially considering the coverage the PS3 drop got due to his ad posting.

Originally Posted by I AM WILLIAM H. MACY Jesus if speedy actually got sued for helping CC's advertising wouldn't that be true corporate idiocy? I think we should all of us, everyone from CAG, DVDTalk, FW, SD, and any other bargain sites, should all chip in $5 to try to help speedy, if indeed this does go through; think of all he's done for the bargain community, you owe him, at the very least that small contribution

dvdtalk is in trouble not Speedy

Originally Posted by Rocko Then why wait until now? Outside influence is not out of the question, especially considering the coverage the PS3 drop got due to his ad posting.

You realize it takes a few weeks(days) or so to form a case, file it, then present it right? The price drop occurred a few weeks ago. They didn't exactly wait long. This isn't a "cease and desist"...

Circuit City probably found out about the problem a week or so into the posting. The lawyers probably looked it over, decided to persue action, and went on a spree. It's barely been what, 3 weeks since the price drop?

Originally Posted by Moxio Yes, this certainly caught my attention. From what's been discussed so far, Cheapy's been notified. Some members believe that removing, or at least closing, Speedy's current threads would be advisable.

Honestly, I don't think it'd help. Circuit City's lawyers would have been idiots if they hadn't made a backup copy of the threads. If they did, they'll probably notice that he makes references to CAG, and since we're the first Google hit for the acronym, it wouldn't be too hard for them to realize that the ads have been posted here as well.

Even easier than that would be Googling his user name. Same end results - currently, one of speedy's ad threads from July posted here is the first result.

Free Speedy!!!!

Maybe Speedy should just PM the ads to the people that actually take the time to read the threads in the first place.

Because, from looking at the VGD forum, I think there's a grand total of about twenty people who don't rush here Sunday morning and try to tell us what's in the ads.

I'm not sure the technical limitations of mass PMs, but is there a way to sign up for a group here on CAG and be part of a mailing list in case we can no longer have ads up in the future? Having the ads at least a week ahead of time is such a big help when making my purchasing decisions. Thanks as always, speedy.

Originally Posted by mtxbass1 You realize it takes a few weeks(days) or so to form a case, file it, then present it right? The price drop occurred a few weeks ago. They didn't exactly wait long. This isn't a "cease and desist"... Circuit City probably found out about the problem a week or so into the posting. The lawyers probably looked it over, decided to persue action, and went on a spree. It's barely been what, 3 weeks since the price drop?

You misunderstand me. If you say it's not due to an outside influence but only CC themselves, why wait until now, since the ads have been posted for months? The timing of the price drop and this action would suggest an outside influence pressuring CC to action. You certainly can't rule it out.

Originally Posted by Rocko You misunderstand me. If you say it's not due to an outside influence but only CC themselves, why wait until now, since the ads have been posted for months? The timing of the price drop and this action would suggest an outside influence pressuring CC to action. You certainly can't rule it out.

Ahh, indeed I did. My best guess would be due to the "major" media picking up on these price drops now before stores (such as CC) want to let it be known. I just don't see what CC stands to lose here. They are getting more sales from this free advertisement. If anything, this will only hurt them. I know I won't be shopping there anymore (not like I did anyway).

Originally Posted by mtxbass1 Ahh, indeed I did. My best guess would be due to the "major" media picking up on these price drops now before stores (such as CC) want to let it be known. I just don't see what CC stands to lose here. They are getting more sales from this free advertisement. If anything, this will only hurt them. I know I won't be shopping there anymore (not like I did anyway).

Yeah, I agree. I suppose the argument that it's copyrighted material is viable, but it seems rather foolish to sue over free advertisement.

That's crap man, I'd like to know who is responsible for this... although I'm sure it's someone involved directly with CC.

Wow. Asshole move by CC. This makes me not want to shop there.