City stiffens penalties for cinema bootleggers
D.C. Johnson
Issue date: 5/14/07 Section: News
Mayor Michael Bloomberg kicked off the summer movie season on a cautionary note by signing a bill that strengthens the penalty for illegally videotaping movies in New York City theaters from a violation to a misdemeanor.
The bill, signed by Bloomberg on May 1, changes the old penalty - up to 15 days in jail and a $250 fine - and will punish illegal tapers with up to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, plus an additional civil penalty of up to $5,000.
"The law is intended to make it clear that this is an illegal act," said Sam Rockwell, spokesman for Brooklyn Councilman David Yassky, who sponsored the bill. Rockwell added that the old penalties for illegal taping weren't strong enough to inspire serious enforcement of the law. "The new, stricter penalties should motivate law enforcement agencies to make arrests."
Reclassifying the offense as a misdemeanor will also make it easier for police, who can now rely upon eyewitness testimony from movie employees, or even movie patrons themselves, to make an arrest. In the past, police officers were required to actually catch someone in the act of taping before taking action.
The city will also roll out an advertising campaign designed to encourage New Yorkers to stop film piracy. The campaign utilizes mock ratings, like "OV" for obstructed view and "PS" for poor sound, that point out the inferior quality of most bootleg movies.
CAS senior Yvonne Leung said those qualities are the main drawbacks of bootleg movies. "You never know what the quality is going to be like," she said.
Quality issues aside, recent studies show a strong demand for bootleg movies, many of which come from New York City. The Motion Picture Association of America reports that 43 percent of all U.S. "camcorded" and pirated movies from 2006, and as many as 20 percent globally, originated in New York City theaters. Officials say this pirating hurts the city's wallet, with the MPAA estimating that local and global film piracy cause the city to lose more than 22,000 jobs and almost $1 billion in earnings.
The bill, signed by Bloomberg on May 1, changes the old penalty - up to 15 days in jail and a $250 fine - and will punish illegal tapers with up to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, plus an additional civil penalty of up to $5,000.
"The law is intended to make it clear that this is an illegal act," said Sam Rockwell, spokesman for Brooklyn Councilman David Yassky, who sponsored the bill. Rockwell added that the old penalties for illegal taping weren't strong enough to inspire serious enforcement of the law. "The new, stricter penalties should motivate law enforcement agencies to make arrests."
Reclassifying the offense as a misdemeanor will also make it easier for police, who can now rely upon eyewitness testimony from movie employees, or even movie patrons themselves, to make an arrest. In the past, police officers were required to actually catch someone in the act of taping before taking action.
The city will also roll out an advertising campaign designed to encourage New Yorkers to stop film piracy. The campaign utilizes mock ratings, like "OV" for obstructed view and "PS" for poor sound, that point out the inferior quality of most bootleg movies.
CAS senior Yvonne Leung said those qualities are the main drawbacks of bootleg movies. "You never know what the quality is going to be like," she said.
Quality issues aside, recent studies show a strong demand for bootleg movies, many of which come from New York City. The Motion Picture Association of America reports that 43 percent of all U.S. "camcorded" and pirated movies from 2006, and as many as 20 percent globally, originated in New York City theaters. Officials say this pirating hurts the city's wallet, with the MPAA estimating that local and global film piracy cause the city to lose more than 22,000 jobs and almost $1 billion in earnings.
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