The Change Mariner

New law makes recording movies in theaters a misdemeanor

Miami Herald:
Sneaking a camcorder into a movie theater will soon be a crime in California under a new law designed to protect both copyrights and the livelihood of thousands of movie industry workers.

"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, which takes effect Jan. 1, allows moviegoers to make a citizen's arrest if they see someone in a theater with a recording device. Signs will also be posted at all Los Angeles County theaters notifying patrons of the new law.

The effort is aimed mainly at camcorders, which account for 92 percent of all illegal copies of films that appear for sale over the Internet and are sold on street corners from Burbank to Beijing, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

The law, which was signed by former Gov. Gray Davis, was written to also include future technologies and could be enforced against people recording all or parts of a film with a tape recorder, hand-held computer or even a cell phone.