NY Introduces 'Piracy Protection Act' to Fight CAMs

First-time offenders would face up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, with repeat offenders being charged with a felony.

New York state politicians and the entertainment industry leaders are joining forces to fight piracy in what has been dubbed the nation's film piracy capital.

Actress Tina Fey, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker and MPAA chairman Dan Glickman joined New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, New York State Senator Frank Padavan and New York State Assembly Codes Committee Chair Joseph R. Lentol, SAG and DGA members and New York State film commissioner Pat Kaufman in unveiling the proposal, dubbed the "Piracy Protection Act," which is apparently designed to combat the "creation, distribution, and sale of illegally recorded movies in New York State."

According to entertainment industry reports, over 50% of all illegally recorded movies are filmed in New York. Despite this fact, New York State only charges illegal film recording as a violation, merely imposing a small fee on offenders.

The Piracy Protection Act will bring the existing illegal recording statute up-to-date by making it a Class A misdemeanor to either illegally record a film or live performance or use an illegal recording for commercial purposes. First time offenders face the possibility of up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine and multiple repeat offenders will be charged with a felony, which brings even higher penalties.

“New York has become the hub for a criminal network dedicated to film piracy,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “The wide distribution of pirated films originating from New York costs our state vital economic resources, including thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue. We are all paying a price for the leniency given to this type of organized crime, and I will not let it continue on my watch.”

Cuomo also announced today that, in conjunction with this legislation, the Attorney General’s Office is creating a new Special Assistant Attorney General to coordinate local and state law enforcement efforts against film piracy. The Special Assistant Attorney General will work with the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF), which investigates and prosecutes criminal networks that operate across county and state lines. This person will also work with local police and district attorneys to aggressively pursue emerging and existing organized crime enterprises that peddle pirated films across the state and country.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said, “When someone participates in multimedia piracy, they are stealing from artists and hurting the entertainment industry that is such a large part of New York’s economy. I commend the Attorney General, Senator Padavan and Senator Volker for putting forward legislation that sends a clear message that such piracy is a serious crime and that those who engage in video piracy will be held accountable for their actions.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “I am proud to be supporting this legislation to combat piracy in New York. This bill will help us address film piracy at its source and will be an effective deterrent to criminals who profit at the expense of our entertainment community. I commend Attorney General Cuomo for working with the legislature and offering an effective solution to this growing problem.”

“As an actor, a writer and a New Yorker, it's discouraging to see the widespread effects piracy has had on our industry," said SNL alum Tina Fey. "Piracy is an issue that is often overlooked, but is one that has an enormous negative impact on every person who works in entertainment, from the stagehands, to the actors, to the producers and so on. It means a great deal to have our Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, speak out on behalf of all New Yorkers within the artistic community of this city and State. And remember, when you buy a DVD, you should not be able to see the heads of people watching it in a movie theater at the bottom of the screen.”

Should we also have to shell out $10 bucks to see a movies that stinks?

MPAA head Dan Glickman said that “Motion picture piracy is a widespread problem that not only costs the film community billions of dollars but comes at a tremendous cost in terms of jobs and the overall economy of New York and the country. I am pleased Attorney General Cuomo recognizes the importance of this issue and is working hard to take it on.”

Keep in mind that this is from the same source that inflated campus movie piracy figures by 300%.

“The current tidal wave of counterfeiting and piracy undermines future growth and kills jobs in the entertainment industry and in all innovation-dependent sectors of the U.S. economy, said Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal. "Enhanced penalties and specialized, dedicated enforcement resources are key to fighting piracy and counterfeiting. I applaud Attorney General Cuomo for this initiative, and in particular for his ground-breaking decision to create a specialized deputy in his office dedicated to fighting piracy. We believe this act of leadership is a model for modern law enforcement nationwide.”

NY State Senator Frank Padavan said that the “Film and music piracy has quickly become a major part of the growing criminal counterfeit epidemic. Year after year, multimedia piracy has had an adverse impact on New York’s economy. This wave of criminal activity has cost the entertainment sector billions in income while leaving New York State with a significant loss in tax revenue. In order to effectively and proactively combat the emergence of multimedia piracy, we must enact legislation on the state level that will increase criminal penalties for these crimes and send a clear message that counterfeiting and piracy will no longer be tolerated in New York.”

“Illegal piracy is rampant not just in Hollywood but all over New York City as well," said Robert Sunshine, Executive Director of National Association of Theatre Owners of NY State. "Camcording in theatres all over the city are sold to bootleggers and are out on the street and online within a day of a movie opening and this causes severe economic problems for the movie theatre community."

Now what's odd about the measure is that it really targets nobody but people who deal in physical bootleg copies of movies. For those who use file-sharing programs and services have many options to choose option when it comes to pirated movies. You have the plethora of CAMs from locales like China and Russia along with the fancy new R5 releases after a few weeks of a movie's premiere that have dramatically changed the wait times for decent copies.

So in the end NY's "Piracy Protection Act" really only seems to hurt the shady guy on the corner hawking bootleg DVDs and does nothing to address the real problems like pricing, distribution, content, and selection.

[Press Release]