Remember Remember the Fifteenth of November

George Lucas called...no soup for you!

In a ground breaking, earth shattering, pirate killing move, the first ever conviction of a movie pirate happened in Canada on Nov. 15, 2008 as reported by CBC.  Richard Lissaman pleaded guilty in the recording of Johnny Depp's movie Sweeney Todd on December 21, 2007.  The sentence for the 21 year old was $1495 in fines, and banishment from movie theaters for one year.  In addition, he's not to own, purchase, or possess any video recording devices, even that on a cell phone, for one year. The CMPDA (Canadian version of the MPAA) was on hand to relish in this victory and a representative from Paramount was there to read a "victim impact" statement.  The rep said that there are 10 people at any given time around the world illegally recording a movie.  The judge's ruling did state that this was not a simple case of stealing for personal use but his sentence is to reflect the theft for profit.  There were no details released on whether the prosecution proved that Lissaman planned or did profit from the recording.

This is most certainly a ground breaking case and for it to happen in my own backyard makes it even that much more interesting.  Digital media piracy is an ever increasing hot topic and I really believe that the legistlations and laws being passed today are targeting this issue directly.  My problem with these laws is not that they are there to protect the studios, actors, directors, and industry staff, but it's that the industry isn't coming up with tangible ways for the legitimate users to benefit from these laws. I personally do not pirate movies.  I choose to purchase my DVD's and watch movies in theaters or rental after the whole "dubbing" of DVD's and such became popular and downloading "screeners" rolled out on the internet.  I do so not because of some moral superiority but because I love movies and I love to watch them the way they were intended.  These screeners and cam videos are never good quality and the audio is horrendous.  But instead of being rewarded for my loyalty, I'm often punished for choosing to legitimize my entertainment.

Comments

[audio visual rental]

This is very funny.