Re: [AMIA-L] Reply: Philips 'DVDs will last forever' advert

[Leo Enticknap <ldge@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger Smither writes:

> I thought there could be scope for a lawsuit there somewhere - the phrase
> "lifetime guarantee" looked actionable to me - but a legal friend told me
> the manufacturers' lawyers would simply claim the phrase did not mean
> "lifetime of the user" but "lifetime of the tape": in other words, the
> tape is guaranteed to last as long as it lasts.  I expect there is a
> similar loophole in the word "forever".  Clever people, these lawyers.

I'd guess that this has the potential to turn into a very messy test
case.  Presumably it would hinge on defining 'lifetime', i.e. how long the
tape could reasonably be expected to remain playable.  Establishing that
would mean considering the tape and machine technology at the time the tape
was bought and the recording was made, whether or not the machine which
made the recording was defective, how the tape was stored, how many times
it was played after recording and a whole load of other variables.

If the tape was a professional grade job, recorded on by an archive using a
properly calibrated VTR and then stored in FIAF-recommended conditions
which was found to be unplayable, say, 10 years later, then I'd guess that
a lawsuit would stand at least a reasonable chance.  But it we're talking
about a home movie shot on standard-grade VHS in 1985, repeatedly played
back on a variety of cheap Korean VCRs for 5 years before being consigned
to a warm and damp attic, then the tape manufacturer would have a pretty
solid defence.

Either way, I wish someone, somewhere, would bring a lawsuit challenging
the advertisers' claims of media longevity.  It would at least make them
think twice about doing it.

Leo

Dr. Leo Enticknap
Director, Northern Region Film and Television Archive
School of Arts and Media
University of Teesside
Middlesbrough  TS1 3BA
United Kingdom
Tel. +44-(0)1642 384022
Fax. +44-(0)1642 384099
Brainfryer: +44-(0)7710 417383