Camcording in Movie Theaters is now a Misdemeanor

As of January 1, in the State of California, illegally recording a feature film in a movie theater with a camcorder will carry a sentence of one year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is lobbying to enact similar laws in other states.

’’This industry is the economic engine that moves this city,’’ Police Chief William Bratton said at a City Hall press conference Thursday.

The new law is designed to prevent copyright infringement, and protect the livelihood of movie industry workers. Signs will be posted at all Los Angeles County theaters notifying patrons of the new law, and moviegoers will be able to make a citizen's arrest if they see someone in a theater with a recording device. Law enforcement officials say officers will respond to calls from theaters to assist in making arrests if resources are available.

MPAA president Jack Valenti said the new law will complement current educational and legal efforts to stem intellectual piracy, which costs the entertainment industry millions of dollars a year in lost profits. According to the MPAA, the law is designed to thwart camcorder users who film and distribute 92 percent of all illegal copies of motion pictures over the Internet and on street corners from Burbank to Beijing. The law was written to include future technologies. In addition, the MPAA is backing efforts in both the House and Senate to make illegal taping of films a federal felony.

Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., recently introduced legislation entitled, The Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act, which makes the use of a camcorder to record the theatrical presentation of motion pictures a felony. Language in the bill will also make it easier to prosecute people who illegally distribute copyrighted material before its legitimate release.

Feinstein, who endorsed Senator John Kerry’s, D-MA., presidential bid, called the legislation an attempt to address the problems created by intellectual piracy.

The Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act, joins a bill sponsored by Congressmen John Conyers, D-Mich., and Howard Berman, D-Calif., that also strives to make camcording movies a federal offense.