When it comes to discussions like this, it's really, really important to remember that legality and morality are two separate issues, even though they often overlap.
Harmy's OOT D-SE is, unquestionably, copyright infringement. I don't think that you could raise a credible fair use defense to avoid trouble. It basically survives because LFL/Disney...doesn't care enough at this point to try to shut it down. (Which, side note, should tip people off to the fact that they aren't planning on releasing their own "competing" version any time soon.) It's not even really a matter of opinion. He's making and distributing copies of a copyrighted work without a license, and he's not doing it in a way that falls within the protection of the fair use defense, under the law.
In other words, he's driving 80mph in a 65mph zone. He's speeding. It's not open for debate, really.
Personally, I think the morality debate is kind of silly, because nobody is going to convince anyone on the opposite side of the fence anyway. Anyone downloading Harmy's stuff already either thinks they're justified/not morally in the wrong, or they just don't really care. But the notion that we're debating whether it is or isn't legal...I mean, that's like saying driving 80 in a 65 zone is legal. It isn't. Maybe your wife is in labor and you're speeding to get her to the hospital. Maybe all of traffic was moving that fast anyway, so you stayed fast to be safer. But let's be clear: if you're doing 80 in a 65 zone, you're speeding, regardless of whatever reason you have to do so. Same deal with the Harmy stuff. It's infringement. Maybe you don't care. Maybe you think you're entitled to do so. Maybe you want to flip Uncle George the finger for ruining your childhood. Whatever. But it's still infringement.
Oh, and since we're likely to head into this area next, here's a quick pre-emptive recap:
LFL/Disney isn't going to release an OOT version on blu-ray yet for probably the next five to ten years, if they release one at all. Fox owns the distro rights to the movies, and ESB and ROTJ won't lapse on those rights for a few more years, while ANH is perpetually Fox's. Meanwhile, personally owned home media is a dying industry, so LFL/Disney may simply decide to not release disc versions, and only do digital if they do anything at all.
Those of us who are fans of the OOT are a niche market, as evidenced by the fact that
no one is actually courting us. If there was sufficient demand, Disney would've made this happen yesterday. But they don't think there is. This is, again, why they aren't targeting Harmy anyway, because, really, who cares? They probably figure the losses are insignificant, and half the people downloading the stuff already bought everything anyway.
So, yeah, it sucks that they aren't releasing it, but hey, that's life. If you want to view the OOT, there are options available. There aren't any legal ones, though, so, you know,
caveat cleptor.
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I guess I just don't see the difference between HArmy's versions and most unlicensed prop replicas...
You've got watching the blu-rays and thinking "I want to see Star Wars the way it was!"... Then a guy like Harmy takes all the versions, clips from some retouches others... recolors... recreates... and then hands out a pretty great version of something not readily available...
Then you have someone who watches the Blu-rays, wants a specific lightsaber, which isn't readily accessible, OR accurate enough, so someone takes reference from those discs and elsewhere, works out all the dimensions, has the saber machined, and then sells it... without a license to do so....
People don't get up in arms about that...
How is it different? I don't get it. I'm sure there are many who will ONLY buy licensed props for this very reason, but I haven't met any, heh.
I feel the same about art print runs... There are guys selling unlicensed prints for Star Wars... Mad Max etc.. no one brings down the hammer.
Legally, there isn't any difference.
I win again... ignore what you can't accept. (The best part is I have no idea who you are. LOL).
