Man busted in Calgary theatre for alleged movie piracy
Last Updated: Thursday, January 17, 2008 | 5:08 PM MT
CBC News
For the first time in Alberta, police have charged someone suspected of unlawfully recording a movie.
Calgary police were called to a northeast movie theatre on Dec. 21.
A private investigator hired by the Canadian Motion Picture Distribution Association alerted officers to the actions of a man he had been following since June 2007.
Calgary police said Thursday officers saw a man sitting at the back of the theatre recording the cinema screen with a camcorder hidden in his clothing.
A 20-year-old man from Calgary is charged with one count of unauthorized recording of a movie. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to two years in jail.
This is the first time the charge has been laid in Alberta and the second time in Canada since it was added to the Criminal Code in June 2007 as a way of stemming movie piracy.
In November, a man was arrested after allegedly recording a movie in a Montreal theatre.
The U.S. International Intellectual Property Alliance, which represents software companies, the recording industry and movie studios, estimates its members lose $225 million every year in Canada to illegal pirating of content.
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