NSW: Man charged with taping movies at drive-in for pirate DVDs
16 Feb 2009 2:24 PM
SYDNEY, Feb 16 AAP - A man has been charged with a string of copyright offences after he was allegedly found recording new-release movies with a video camera at a western Sydney drive-in.
The 26-year-old man was arrested at his home in Broad Street, Prospect at about 4.45pm (AEDT) on Friday, police said.
Police allege that on numerous occasions over the past five months, the man recorded several new release movies at the drive-in.
He then allegedly uploaded them to the internet for others to download illegally.
The movies allegedly included Beverly Hills Chihuahua, High School Musical 3, Bedtime Stories, Yes Man, Valkyrie, Marley And Me and He's Just Not That Into You.
Police said the recordings had been positively linked to DVDs being sold in Australia, as well as other countries including the US and the UK.
The man has been charged with 18 offences, including possessing a device with intent to make an infringing copy, possessing an infringing copy for distribution, and distributing infringing copies.
He has been bailed to appear in Blacktown Local Court on March 12.
Maximum penalties for copyright offences include a $60,500 fine and/or five years imprisonment per offence.
The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) said the man's arrest was the result of an intensive investigation by AFACT investigators using digital watermarking technology.
The watermarks identify the cinemas where movies are illegally recorded.
"The importance of preventing the illegal camcording of movies during their cinematic release cannot be overstated," AFACT operations director Neil Gane said.
"Over 90 per cent of pirated movies that first hit the global internet or are sold on streets around the world originate from professional 'cammers' making illegal recordings in cinemas," he said.
"Anyone thinking of illegally camcording a movie should be aware that the technology exists to identify them, track them down and take them to court on criminal copyright charges."
