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So can I sell a camera with the following description? SpyCam Disclaimer: should not be used for spying

btilly 3y ago
There is historical precedent. My favorite were winemaking kits sold during Prohibition that told you what you needed to avoid doing, because doing that would make wine. https://grapecollective.com/articles/prohibitions-grape-bricks-how-to-not-make-wine https://grapecollective.com/articles/prohibitions-grape-bric...
- unaindz 3y ago
  That's really funny, thanks for sharing. It's worth to point out that the article tells it was legal to make wine in your own home during the prohibition because of a loophole.
mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago
It's a common trope in grey markets. Not sure to what extent this is still the case, but when I was messing around with greyzone drugs about a decade ago, they tended to be sold on technically legal, UK, Swedish, Polish etc web stores. They'd have names similar to illegal drugs they were analogues of and like descriptions of the effects. But have the disclaimer "not for human consumption. Research purposes only". Of course even the purportedly pure chemical products were unsuitable for actual research or standards use due to lack of attestation to purity(at least with most vendors) and so on. It didn't affect the legality, probably just a weak attempt to avoid potential liability.
folmar 3y ago
This is the situation of cannabis seeds in at least large part of the EU. You can have/buy/sell the seeds but it's illegal to grow them.
bluGill 3y ago
Maybe. Can you should legitimate uses that people actually buy this for? There are legal uses for a spyCam. Check with your local laws though as what is legal is different in different areas. For example you can use a spyCam to see who/what is knocking over your garbage can - anything you film would be legal. I'm sure there are a lot of other legal uses for a spyCam.
jjk166 3y ago
Spycams are legal to sell without the disclaimer, so adding the disclaimer isn't going to make it less legal.

There is historical precedent. My favorite were winemaking kits sold during Prohibition that told you what you needed to avoid doing, because doing that would make wine. https://grapecollective.com/articles/prohibitions-grape-bricks-how-to-not-make-wine https://grapecollective.com/articles/prohibitions-grape-bric...

unaindz 3y ago
That's really funny, thanks for sharing. It's worth to point out that the article tells it was legal to make wine in your own home during the prohibition because of a loophole.

mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y ago

It's a common trope in grey markets. Not sure to what extent this is still the case, but when I was messing around with greyzone drugs about a decade ago, they tended to be sold on technically legal, UK, Swedish, Polish etc web stores. They'd have names similar to illegal drugs they were analogues of and like descriptions of the effects. But have the disclaimer "not for human consumption. Research purposes only". Of course even the purportedly pure chemical products were unsuitable for actual research or standards use due to lack of attestation to purity(at least with most vendors) and so on. It didn't affect the legality, probably just a weak attempt to avoid potential liability.

folmar 3y ago

This is the situation of cannabis seeds in at least large part of the EU. You can have/buy/sell the seeds but it's illegal to grow them.

bluGill 3y ago

Maybe. Can you should legitimate uses that people actually buy this for? There are legal uses for a spyCam. Check with your local laws though as what is legal is different in different areas. For example you can use a spyCam to see who/what is knocking over your garbage can - anything you film would be legal. I'm sure there are a lot of other legal uses for a spyCam.

jjk166 3y ago

Spycams are legal to sell without the disclaimer, so adding the disclaimer isn't going to make it less legal.