My name is Douglas Gordon. In 2019, the Department of Justice charged and convicted me of Criminal Copyright Infringement, resulting in a 60-month prison sentence. This is my story.
Since the investigation began in 2015, I acknowledged copying and distributing movies that I sold through various websites. My reasons for not cooperating with investigators and opting for a trial were straightforward:
My longtime attorney advised me against any form of cooperation.
I disagreed with the United States Government’s interpretation of copyright law as it pertained to my case.
Even if I was mistaken, the prosecution would be unprecedented in US history.
The Fair Use of Orphan Works was and still is Unsettled Law.
The federal case, United States v Gordon involved the Fair Use of Orphan Works, and I couldn't, in good conscience, refrain from fighting for something I believed in. Alongside an interpretive disagreement, I had a fundamental disagreement. I couldn't be the first to essentially help the government in broadening the already overly restrictive and harsh US criminal copyright law. This expanding law was already hindering the very purpose of copyright law.
I was determined to fight the case regardless of the personal negative effects.
To explain how I arrived at this point, we need to go back several decades.
When I was ten, I watched a film you might know, “Star Wars”. Up until that summer, I had probably seen 10 movies in my entire life. I believe I went to see “Star Wars: A New Hope” 20 times in theaters. It was 1977, long before movies were easily accessible on various devices.
Growing up with a physical disability in rural Maine during the 1970s, I often became a target for bullies and initially responded by hitting the bully in the face. Although this usually stopped the bullying, I quickly realized it wasn’t the right solution. Society generally disapproves of such actions, especially back then. So, I had to discover other ways to overcome them, and one way to escape the reality of bullying was by immersing myself in movies. “Star Wars” transformed my life in many ways. I had never seen anything like it before. The story was a classic Good versus Evil. The underdog, an unknown farm boy, defies the odds and defeats the oppressive, cruel Empire.
My passion for the SCI-FI/Fantasy adventure was intense; I wanted every toy, ship, and action figure I could find, but it was the books that truly changed my life.
Many of the books were scripts, storyboards, or details about how the movie was made. At 10 years old, I had a life-changing realization: People MAKE movies? My ten-year-old mind finally understood that some people did this as a job. They woke up every day, made movies, and got paid for it! At that moment, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I was determined to make movies and be involved in that industry in any way possible. Eventually, I went to business school, then Video Production school, and finally Film School. While at film school, I did what most students do: I made student films. After college, I continued making films. The student projects turned into independent projects—low budget and sometimes quite rough. But I kept going, hoping to improve with each attempt.
For about a decade, I worked on numerous small TV and film projects. Some were completed, some were not. While working 'regular' jobs, I sought employment that somehow related to 'the business’. TV stations, movie theaters, video stores, media distributors—I was trying to learn every aspect of the filmed entertainment industry.
A recurring challenge in independent film production that we often encountered was the lack of sufficient funds to execute the projects properly. This is a common issue in indie filmmaking. I sometimes met with outside investors, but I was never prepared to relinquish the control they demanded to release the funds.
After 2000, several developments occurred. Our production company had just completed a major year-long project, there were personality conflicts within our small team, and I was going through a divorce. Then 9/11 happened. The event had a deep impact on me, making me question if I was squandering my time on these small film projects. I wanted to make a greater impact on a larger audience. Around this period, I also discovered ecommerce and began reselling items on all the popular platforms. Mostly, I sold, as you might have guessed, movies and movie-related items.
As it proved to be very successful and expanded rapidly, I decided to pause filmmaking and focus on pursuing financial gain. My plan was to earn enough money to fund a sizable film and then return to the business of making movies.
That day never arrived, but I earned a substantial amount of money. It was a lot to me, considering my background in a lower middle-class family from rural Maine. My online sales brought in more money than I had ever made before. Instead of returning to filmmaking, I decided to open physical stores to complement the Internet business, aiming to build a small retail empire. That's how EDGE Video was established.
I aspired to create a unique video chain to compete with the major players at the time, like Blockbuster, Movie Gallery, and Hollywood Video, which had successfully driven many mom-and-pop stores out of business over the years. Inspired by my Star Wars roots, I took on the big companies. Additionally, I wanted EDGE to be a store for movie enthusiasts, so while we stocked multiple copies of the latest superhero and summer blockbusters, we also carried films like Eraserhead, El Topo, and various smaller indie films.
In 2004, the general public, particularly in Northern Maine, was hesitant to use their credit card online for purchases. To accommodate this, our store began offering special order services. Customers often sought out rare and difficult-to-find movies. Our motto became: “If a movie has been made, we can find it!”
For instance, imagine you watched the 1986 Christmas movie, Babes in Toyland, on TV when you were younger. It was released on VHS in 1991 but then seemed to vanish like a forgotten Christmas gift in your closet. By 2008, DVDs were the main format, and Babes was nowhere to be found. As an EDGE customer, you could visit our store, and we would order a DVD copy for you. Occasionally, the disc would arrive with a handwritten title, using something like a black marker.
A magic marker. A felt pen! A fuckin' black magic marker!
The customer would examine this, glance at me, and ask, "Is this legal?" TO BE CONTINUED...