The entertainment industry has tried to provide lawful replacements for infringing download and streaming sites.
These include sale of a durable copy of a video on DVD or Blu-ray Disc, a time-limited or permanent license[1] to view a video through a video on demand (VOD) provider, or its inclusion in an all-you-can-eat VOD subscription service such as Netflix.
But the industry's efforts have failed in a few key edge cases.
As of November 2017, three different specialized search engines show that the following works remain legally unavailable in the United States:
- Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987 animated film)
- WhereToWatch.com's work page has a summary but no poster or viewing choices.
- CanIStream.it's search result lists only an unrelated 1973 film titled Emperor of the North.
- GoWatchIt.com's work page states that the film "is not available now."
- Song of the South (1946 live action and animated film)
- WhereToWatch.com's work page has a summary and poster but no viewing choices.
- CanIStream.it's search result quickly eliminates "Instant Streaming", "Streaming Rental", "Digital Purchase", and "DVD/Bluray", leaving "On Cable by Xfinity" with a throbber that does not resolve after over 60 seconds.
- GoWatchIt.com's work page states that the film "is not available now."
- Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea, the English-language dub of Les mondes engloutis (animated TV series)
- WhereToWatch.com's work page has a summary and a poster (under the French title), as well as summaries of each of the two seasons.
- Season 1, Digital Streaming: "This season is not available."
- Season 1, DVD & Blu-Ray: "This season is not available."
- Season 2, Digital Streaming: "This season is not available."
- Season 2, DVD & Blu-Ray: "This season is not available."
- CanIStream.it's search result links to a work page with "Availability" buttons for each episode. Activating each "Availability" button produces "On Cable by Xfinity" with a stuck throbber.
- GoWatchIt.com's work page states that the series "is not available now."
What can somebody who wishes to lawfully watch a movie or TV series do to encourage its publisher to make it available other than adding them to his queue on GoWatchIt.com?
Notes
- ↑ Sometimes the VOD providers' marketing materials refer to a permanent license as a "digital purchase". This is somewhat misleading because the terms of service and the digital restrictions management (DRM) applied to the stream fail to grant rights equivalent to those of an owner of a copy.