Help stop the elimination of affordable LED lighting for film, video and photo

[helianimal]

@101AOK The use of "guys" is grammatically accepted to mean people and is gender neutral, a substitute for "everyone". "Hey guys, hey everyone". At least you learned something today.

[GeekinsteinTutorials]

And now tungsten bulbs are being restricted- if I remember right, they are not going to be allowed to be made anymore in the US. (I dont know when it takes effect though)

[james6420]

nice video's and channel

[101AOK]

relax. You were just in the headlights at the time. Alls well. THanks for your vid.

[AceDisgraceTV]

This is so sad... Come here to HK or China and use that budget you have for Litepanels to buy for a 2000-3000LED panels for 120usd bigger, brighter, same bulbs and all... its all freaking made in China. Suck balls Corporate America!!!

[101AOK]

How about ONE TIME...ONE TIME someone doesn't start out with "Hey guys..." EVERY vid starts with that ..lucky for me I'm a guy. but I have news for you...MANY women take that as an insult if they aren't from the Midwest of have brothers. It is also TOTALLY worn out...Hey Guys....scheesh What is it some kind of YouBoob thing. It is getting way too old. How about trying this. "Hi, thanks for stopping by. We have a nice segment for you." or " Hi, I'm so and so and this presentation is about..."

[nimbo85]

@101AOK If that's the only thing you've got from this video then that is rather sad. Appreciate the time, effort, knowledge and experience you are getting for free.

[richieramone1]

Im with you Tony. I refuse to pay 600 bux on a hotshoe LED, when my pool has $300 Leds...

[redisdeadrideblue]

By the way, is there an OFFICIAL petition we can all join together and sign?

[redisdeadrideblue]

For those OUTSIDE the US, I heard that Litepanels is currently working on getting a similar patent to affect those in Europe.

Also, stock in Litepanels has steadily been dropping so us joining together is working! Let's continue to push forward and show Litepanels we are serious with fighting this patent!

[axeman3d]

Sounds like they need a slap.

[myparadoxuk]

Glad I dont live in the USA would not get away with that where I am from

[dustylense]

Just don't buy anything from Litepanels. BOYCOT Lightpanels!!!

[indyola]

Litepanels was just awarded a patent in July of 2011, that is one being cited in the complaint: 7972022

The application for that patent was filed in January of 2006. Of course Litepanels needs to defend their patents, and the discussion really should nothing to do with how poor we are, or how the poor company has hired people to work for them.

HOWEVER, I don't think that generic LED lights for camera use actually infringes on their patents.

[redisdeadrideblue]

We need to do more than just express our anger... We need to take action. Litepanels is under Vitec so if we really want to send a message, we need to boycott all companies under Vitec as well.

We need to send a message to Litepanels, Vitec AND ITC. We can write a letter and petition to ITC. We can do this everyone!

[cswainhart]

This needs to be fought by everyone interested in filmmaking. I spent $67 on a Youngnuo YN-150 LED to light the inside of the car in my Save Gas Get Fit Ride a Bike TV spot.

No, I couldn't afford one penny more. I really don't care about protecting Litepanel's profits. I care about jobs: mine. The Chinese workers are going to get paid to make this stuff. The question is do you want to pay Litepanel a fortune in profits first, or do you want to pay the Chinese yourself

[prowlaman]

If LitePanels wants to compete, then they should lower their fricken prices! EVERYONEONE knows they don't cost that much to manufacture. Thats's like Apple trying to stop the sale of every phone that has a touchscreen interface. Greed.

[bbcasting]

This is total BS. I will contact the USITC and let them know.

Just out of curiosity, what does everyone think of the Z96?

[bbcasting]

@bbcasting No one?

[wwwShadow7]

40W equivalent ecosmart A19's and work lights for me. Although I've already had 2x go bad on me of the 20x I have. And I haven't had them but a year at most. I guess I'll cash in on the 5 year warranty.

[vancian1970]

The sad thing is that Litepanels LED lights aren't even that good. Plus they are overpriced. My comer 1800 for 350 bucks blows away the Litepanels micropro. Better build quality too.

[360PuertoRico]

This is a very low technology item that uses components that have been invented by other companies. This is equivalent to saying the if I patent something called "metal mesh container with wheels to carry groceries" then no manufacturer could build shopping carts. If claims go through I could go right now and patent a similar system with the latest light emission technology. I totally disagree with Lightpanels.

[WAYOFFproduction]

only in america you can patent things like that. it would really suck. couldn't you display these light as non photography/video. like call them work lights. they can't really say anything about that. but I guess it is hard for advertising later on. well let's just hope it doesn't get to that point

[markpicturefilm]

Cannot believe patent officers could approve such patents. To be honest i remember lite was the first one i heard using led for this purpose, but leds for general room lighting exist since 5 years before. Thanks for posting.

[biozastron]

affordable LEDs are the BEST! Cmon! let it not be passed!

[CINEMACUTEO]

Please upload this video on Vimeo so them I can added to the Cinemacuteo Filmschool channel.

[Mp3dog]

@CINEMACUTEO Do it yourself. Go to the KEEPVID website.

[SEThatered]

This patent business gets more criminal by the day.

People use patents to leverage their business to the monopoly status.

I will not be surprised if somebody will get a patent for breathing and charge people for that...

[xxbluejay21]

Thanks for the info tony!

[anjonjp]

FYI (and most people probably already know) - Litepanels have a YouTube Channel. Could always politely let them know what consumers / prosumers / professionals think about their monopolistic ambitions!

[NitsanPictures]

Thank you for this!

How do we contact the USRTC?

maybe a link in the in the description?

[fo0g]

Solution? Litepanels need to make their products cheaper! It has been proven that the same result can be achieved at a lower cost (Micro vs Z96).

[R3APER24]

Kind of a spit in aspiring and indie filmmaker's faces. Hopefully, they don't successfully block other companies.

[lakaygayyad]

someone should put a patent on the sun too... and ban that light to be used for film, video or photography

[FernovaProductions]

Isn't it pretty ironic that this video is about lighting and it's over exposed? At least it is in my opinion.

[ottoelperro]

@FernovaProductions A bit, I do agree.

[garryentropy]

@FernovaProductions yes it is a bit

[familyvids1]

The members of the public are invited to file comments, not to exceed five pages in length, on any public interest issues raised by the complaint. Comments should address whether issuance of an exclusion order and/or a cease and desist order in this investigation would negatively affect the public health and

2 welfare in the United States, competitive conditions in the United States economy, the production of like or directly competitive articles...

[NextWaveG]

@familyvids1 Correct. This is from the 337 Complaint form which you can find on our website. Contacting the USITC and letting them know how this will negatively affect the US economy is an important step for us to take.

[ChadWork1]

Ban Litepannels! And write them hate mail....

[makatr0n]

just because they put together a bunch of LED with a cold shoe does not mean they INVENT the LED lighting, it can be easily proven in court though. And is really cheap to build those leds arrays they sell and their built quality isn't that superb to justify the price they charge, so screw them

[raguoragula]

Zylight is the best.

[cammyammy]

Annoyingly they have every right to do this as they have fairly patented their product. But they already have a successful business with top dollar profesionals looking for top dollar equipment. Litepanels are the best in the business at the moment as far as I'm aware, if at a price, But what they are doing is cutting off resources to aspiring film makers who simply cant afford top dollar equipment, and if this goes through, it doesnt change the fact that most of us still cant afford them!

[frty130]

@cammyammy Even if they were awarded a patent it does not mean it's valid. Every day patents are challenged based on the fact that they are not unique and that the technology existed prior to the company who filed the patent. Just like Copyrights that company then must prove it was their original idea brought to market first and no other company had the technology first. So really they don't have any right to do so legally. LED lights have been patented since the early 90's.

[slipperydippery]

@frty130 chalenging invalid patents is often so expensive and time consuming that many smaller companies will often just pay off the larger patent holding companies in order to use the technology. The patent system is really quite flawed in this regard.

Check out. "Why software patents are not fixable" by marco.org

[cammyammy]

@frty130 You know your stuff, wont argue with that ;-)

But what Im getting at, away from the legleness, is that its ludicrous for them to do this because 9 times out of 10 people dont buy litepanels because they cant afford to, and instead buy something that meets their budget. At the end of the day their sales wont increase that dramatically because people still wont be able to afford them. If you get what I'm trying to say...

[Isle0fRed]

good thing this doesnt affect the UK

[ciencin]

Well if they have a patent then they are in the right to file this complaint. Monopoly or not, but the law is on their side.

and no, I'm not a LitePanels fanboy, I own both LitePanels and various other third party LEDs, and use both all the time.

[freedomfighter213]

thanks for standing up for us!

[altoso99]

This is incredible. I'm Spanish, but today I decided to buy led lights for my camera for night event shooting, and they aren't Litepanels... I hope they get turned down.

[bassmanTV]

dose that mean that every DSLR that has an AF assist light is illeagle?

[133fahad]

That Sucks.. I hope they stop this rubbish... it's just light... and everyone needs it

to make movies better...

:\ good luck..



[LucidDreamTricks]

What specifically are you asking us to do about it?

[SNACKTRUCKtv]

Litepanels did not invent LED lighting...it has been around in other applications for over a decade...Not to mention they're overpriced for what they are (anyone who has built an LED panel before knows exactly how cheap/easy it is)

[TheFilmMaster]

Oh, that's fine for me, I live in the U.K.!!

[deelybob]

The whole point of a patent is to create a limited-term monopoly and protect the interests of innovators. That's not the issue here. The true issue is whether the patent should have been issued to Litepanels. The USPTO has been issuing some very suspect patents, and I don't know that putting a bunch of LEDs together to make a larger light source is something that should have been patented to begin with.

[xTurnipTimex]

One thing we can also do, IS NEVER.. EVER.. now buy from LitePanels.. screw LitePanels.. I hate them now.

[MendozaAlegria]

whaaat nooooo!!



[dinoalberini]

Litepanels is a fucking patent troll of the worst kind. I'll never buy anything from them from now on.

[escapetosaltspring]

Frivolous Litigation problems, strict copywriter and patten laws will stifle and strangle the US economy. A good book on the subject is called Jump Point. Don't worry Canadians will import them from China and then ship them to you at a small mark up.

[kk5hy]

I won't buy anything from Lightpanels. And I'm tweeting and facebook that to every other indie film people I know.

[Dizzleskateyo]

First!

This is crazy. Litepanels should not be able to do this. This closes many opportunities for a lot of dilm makers as far as lighting

[Dariyman87]

No!!!! This is not good.... I don't think that it is possible or them to... Thank you so much...love your videos...

[Funnyblah1]

FIRST



[Funnyblah1]

NOOOOOOOOOO!