AfterDawn: News

US congress targets movie pirates

The United States Congress today passed a bill that's very tough on movie pirates. Anybody who is caught trying to record a movie in a theatre with a camcorder could face up to three years in prison. In 2003, piracy cost the movie industry about £3.7bn in lost revenue. The US Customs Department blames 95% of pirated movies online on two sets of people. It blames the people who create CAM and Telesync copies of movies by recording a movie while it's showing in theatres and blames industry insiders who intentionally leak movies before their release.

The bill has been passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives and now President Bush is set to sign it. It is intended to clamp down on pirates who sell bootleg copies of new films. The Internet has become a massive resource for pirated movies, including movies that haven't been released yet. It is not uncommon for DVD or VHS Screener copies of movies to appear on the Internet long before a retail copy is available in stores.



Those found guilty under the new laws could face up to three years in prison, with six year sentences for subsequent offences. They may also face legal action from copyright holders (usually major movie studios). Anyone caught distributing a movie or song prior to its commercial release will face up to 10 years in prison.

Source:
BBC News

Written by: James Delahunty @ 20 Apr 2005 20:35

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• 12 comments

• philipman

  This sucks good thing I don't download movies. My dad knows someone that is getting sued because he was shareing mass amounts of movies.
  

  

  20.4.2005 20:40 #1

• smackfrog

  I can't see why the jail sentences are so long. Up to 10 years for a movie/song that is not out yet. Do murderers and rapists get that long a sentence?

  20.4.2005 20:52 #2

• philipman

  I think if you kill someone and you ment it the jail time is 25+ years, but 10 years for shareing a movie WTF.
  

  

  20.4.2005 20:55 #3

• thor999

  so what you're saying then is that if i want to pirate a movie from the theater, I should kill the guy that sold me the popcorn so I have something to plea bargain down to? I agree that movies should be given a chance to make their money in the theaters, and I also agree that online piracy is hurting this among other industries, but damn, shouldn't the punishment fit the crime? Its almost scary what a bunch of money and attorneys can do in this country; I seem to remember this place being a democracy, yet I don't recall voting on any of these issues, or being given the chance to...

  20.4.2005 23:50 #4

• Letukka

  Lol. 10 years for distributing a movie, CMON! How stupid are americans??? Well. Luckily it doesn't affect me, since i dont live in the US :p neither do I watch CAM or Telesync movies. But maybe this will slow real piracy down a bit. Almost every pirated movie on the blackmarket is a copy of a CAM-version of the movie or some shit like that. Time will tell. BUT 10 FUCKIN YEARS?? You have got to be kidding.

  20.4.2005 23:53 #5

• chesty

  So what's that have to do with fair use rights. ?
  
  Listen the whole thing about this issue is it's just a smoke screen that the us congress uses so that they don't have to held responsible for passing an abortion like the dmca.
  
  it's illegal to bypass the css encyrption on a prerecorded movie dvd and those people in mpaa are so greedy that they are on record as being in opposition to amend the dmca so that a person who has a LEGALLY bought dvd can make a back up copy of it.
  
  They lump fair use rights and pirating in the same catagory.
  
  DON'T YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE IN THE US CONGRESS TAKE KICKBACKS AND BRIBES FROMN THE MPAA AND THE RIAA ?
  
  DON'T PEOPLE KNOW THE US CONGRESS IS ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT ENTITIES IN THE WORLD?

  21.4.2005 08:34 #6

• aw614

  I guess its illegal to buy movies like Kung Fu Hustle from Hong Kong before it comes out in the United States? I bet in Chinatowns right now, they sell legit region 3 dvd's

  21.4.2005 09:21 #7

• ceja_11

  Just dont download anything american any more, Stick with asian films, Thats not mpaa.

  21.4.2005 13:13 #8

• nonoitall

  I'm all for P2P and think the movie/music industries are about the greediest people on the planet, but I do agree that a movie should have a chance to make some profit in the theaters (can't wait to go see Star Wars episode 3).
  
  But I do also agree that the punishment is way out of proportion. A friend of mine knew (of) a murderer who (legitimately) got out of prison after five years. To think that someone could get thrown in prison for twice that long just for bringing a camcorder into a theater is rediculous.
  
  And they don't even have to share the movie to get punished - now they'll probably start trying to sue people for remembering the movies they see, since they're creating "unauthorized copies" in their cerebral cortex. I wouldn't put it past them.

  21.4.2005 16:10 #9

• nonoitall

  Correction: ridiculous*
  
  Too bad there's no edit post function here.

  21.4.2005 16:12 #10

• punx777

  this is rediculous. america's legal system is so fucked up.
  
  'hey what are you in for?'
  -"i killed 3 people with a dull spoon and wore one of their stomachs as a stocking hat...what did you do"
  
  "I downloaded a movie"
  
  here, http://reopen911.org/freedvd.php
  
  i want everyone here to visit this website, fill it out and you will recieve an absolutly FREE dvd.
  
  i know it sounds insane, i thought it was when i saw the first 10 minutes of it. but just watch me. the government were responsible for 9/11.

  21.4.2005 16:16 #11

• nonoitall

  Keep in mind that it's a LEGAL system - not a justice system.

  21.4.2005 19:26 #12