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Camcorder Piracy Law

Justice Dept. Makes First Indictment Under Camcorder Piracy Law

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 5, 2005 - 5:12am.
San Jose, Calif. -- The U.S. Justice Dept. this week made its first indictment under a new law that makes it a crime to bring a camcorder into a movie theater to make a pirate recording. Nineteen-year-old Curtis Salisbury, of St. Charles, Missouri, faces up to 17 years in prison for allegedly bringing a camcorder into screenings of "The Perfect Man" and "Bewitched," later posting copies of the pirate recordings he made on file-sharing networks. In addition to the charges under the camcorder law, which took effect in April, the Justice Dept. has also leveled conspiracy and copyright infringement charges against Salisbury, who allegedly also downloaded a number of pirated films and software programs from the networks. The Justice Dept. said Salisbury's indictment was a result of Operation Copycat -- a local version of its larger Operation Site Down online piracy investigations -- that have so far indicted five individuals and conducted more than 40 searches nationwide. Salisbury is scheduled to appear in court in federal court San Jose, Calif. on Aug. 18.
tags: Law | Justice Dept | First Indictment | Camcorder Piracy Law |