Back in June, Canada adopted legislation which would see greater punishments for people caught camcording movies in theaters. The amendment to Bill C-59 stated in part that any person caught recording a movie in a theater without permission would be guilty of an indictable offense – and liable to be imprisoned for up to two years.
According to reports, October 2007 saw the arrest of a 23 year old man, allegedly caught trying to record or ‘cam’ the new movie, ‘Dan in Real Life‘. He was also in possession of equipment to directly upload the movie to the internet and was likely to have been apprehended by police and theater staff wearing night vision goggles.
The man from Quebec is among the first to be charged under the new legislation which, according to Slyck.com, was rushed through in record time after intense lobbying by the MPAA in the United States.
If convicted, the man faces up to two years in jail. However, should his actions be considered part of a commercial operation, the term jumps to five years and could include forfeiture of assets.
