Movie distributors’ association seeks to modify Criminal Code, C-60

The body representing U.S. film studios here in Canada is ramping up the fight against pirates videotaping movies in theatres, and has hired a lobbyist to press for tougher penalties for so-called camcording. The Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association (CMPDA), which is affiliated with the international Motion Picture Association, filed a lobbyist registration with Industry Canada earlier this month. The association has retained Gordon Quaiattini, a partner with Ottawa’s Wellington Strategy Group Inc., to "seek Criminal Code amendments concerning camcording and distribution of pirated film and television product in Canada," according to Industry Canada’s Strategis web site. The filing also includes lobbying efforts targeting Bill C-60, the proposed legislation that would reform the existing Copyright Act. The bill received first reading in the House of Commons in June, but its second reading has been stalled by the no-confidence motion recently introduced by the Opposition. The CMPDA’s mission is to fight piracy of all movie studio works in Canada, whether they appear on DVD or video, in theatres, over the public airwaves or on pay-per-view. CMPDA VP Susan Peacock says the provisions currently contained in the Copyright Act don’t do enough to acknowledge the severity of camcording. "If you’re operating a video camera in a movie theatre, you’re infringing, but it’s not a crime," she says, adding that in order for an activity to be considered criminal it needs to have some commercial activity or benefit. "When you find somebody operating a camera in a movie theatre, nine times out of nine it will be part of a criminal activity, but there’s no evidence of it," she notes. Peacock says she doesn’t know if making camcording a criminal infringement in Bill C-60 would force amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada. Any reform of the Criminal Code would likely require that a bill encompassing the amendments be introduced into the House. "This legislative committee…will have authority to amend the bill , but I don’t know if they’ll have authority to amend the bill in such a way that it causes an amendment to another act," she says. The United States recently amended its copyright legislation to include criminal charges and jail time for possession of a camcorder in a movie theatre. "It’s a lot different in the U.S.," Peacock notes. "Operating a recording device in a movie theatre is a specific offence in a number of states, and federally…but not yet here." While a civil lawsuit is the most common means of restitution in cases of copyright infringement, the lack of criminal charges means those apprehended for filming in movie theatres can’t be forced to reveal their name, address and other information necessary to serve them papers. "I think it’s a case of the law not keeping up with technology," Peacock says. Canada, Peacock adds, has gained some notoriety as a major source for many of the camcorded copies of films circulating around the world. Motion picture studios place a watermark on each print of a film distributed that identifies the theatre it was sent to, and that watermark is easily discernable on copies of camcorded movies. "If it’s the first time a movie has been found in a pirated version, 90%...were camcorded in a theatre, and over 45% of the theatres in which this is happening are in Canada," she says. While those watermarks have proved useful in tracking down the source of a pirated film, they haven’t helped in identifying the perpetrators. The next best thing would be to create a technology that would render it impossible to record a movie from a theatre’s screen. "Certainly, we’re going to look to technology to provide part of the solution – it’s providing most of the problem – but at this moment we don’t have any effective technology that will make it so that you can’t actually record something right off the screen," Peacock says. There is already a technological fix for camcording in the works. Toshiba Corp.’s proposed standard for next-generation DVDs, HD DVD, would incorporate an audio-based watermarking technology that would scan a movie’s soundtrack for inaudible markers. If an HD DVD player detected the presence of an audio watermark indicating the DVD was copied from a theatre print, it would shut down. Major manufacturers such as Toshiba, NEC Corp., Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd., Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. have already endorsed the HD DVD standard, as have New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and Warner Brothers. However, Peacock notes, history shows that as soon as a new technological protection measure (TPM) for digital content emerges, someone is already at work trying to defeat it. Peacock says C-60 as it stands doesn’t go far enough to penalize those who circumvent TPMs. "What’s in C-60 is very thin protection," she says. "It would make it an offence to circumvent technological measures for the purpose of infringement...If you were going to sue somebody you’d have to prove their intent." Proving intent can be near-impossible, Peacock adds, "unless of course they have actually made infringing copies...that’s already an offence, so this new so-called remedy actually doesn’t add anything to the protection." In addition to movie theatre camcording, the CMPDA conducts campaigns against satellite signal piracy, pre-recorded DVD and videocassette piracy, unauthorized public performances of copyrighted film works, and abuse of promotional copies of films. Many of these are criminal offences in Canada.

Movie distributors’ association seeks to modify Criminal Code, C-60

News | 11/25/2005 5:00 am EST

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