James Delahunty
12 Dec 2005 11:10
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is pushing legislation that would mean tougher penalties for individuals who record movies whilst in a theater using a camcorder. Under state law in New York right now, somebody caught recording a movie in a cinema will be fined a minimum of $250. The MPAA wants the operating of recording equipment inside a theater to be a criminal misdemeanor, which raises the fine to $1,000 and possibly a year in jail.
Police would then also have the right to make an arrest on the spot, not just issue a summons. People who would be caught for a second time would be charged with a felony. "We have to do something, because right now there's no risk," said William J. Shannon, a Yonkers-based deputy director of the association's U.S. anti-piracy operation. "Right now, you're looking at something about the same as a parking ticket."
But Pace Law School professor David N. Cassuto however likened the use of tough criminal penalties to attack the lowest-level offenders in pirating operations to "using a howitzer to solve a roach problem." He said the same rule laws and penalties would apply to some kid using a camera phone to snap a picture while being in a theater. Movies distributed to theaters are now watermarked, making it possible to track them back to the theater they came from. The movie industry reckons half the movies recorded in theaters and distributed around the world came from New York.
Source:
Yahoo