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Arrest Under New NY Anti-Piracy Law
AxminsterLeuven writes "The BBC is carrying a story on new tightened New York anti-piracy legislation: A man has been arrested, after smuggling video recording equipment into a theater showing the new Transformers movie. 'Kalidou Diallo, 48, has been charged with unauthorized use of a video camera in a cinema. Under upgraded legislation, he could face six months in jail and fines of up to $5,000 (£2,487) if found guilty,' the BBC reports."
I've never understood the appeal of these pirated works. I'm very skeptical that, as a consumer of such a bootleg, I could find the viewing experience enjoyable with the quality levels rendered by a homemade video of a movie--especially one that I could experience in a theater at a matinee showing for five to seven bucks. More than fifteen days of jail time seems excessive to me.
If your so desperate to see a movie that you will watch a crappy copy of something someone took with a camcorder complete with the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 audience view in the bottom of the screen then just pay for $7 or wait for the DVD like everyone else. I have a friend that does this and is always asking if I want to watch some crap movie I wouldnt have paid to see, then claims he is doing it because he is anti-mpaa. If your really anti-mpaa then you wont bother to see it at all, just the fact that someone wastes an hour downloading a poor quality bootleg proves that it has some value to them. Its hard to fight increasing restrictions on fair use when bozos like this continue to make the MPAA's point for them.
The reason it is wise to include jail time for violent offenders is that it is ultimately cheaper for society to pay for their room, board, and supervision than it is to potentially suffer another violent incident. Incarcerating violent offenders is one of the least controversial uses of tax money in modern America.
What is the justification for using taxpayer money to incarcerate a non-violent offender? Worse yet, what is the justification for incarcerating an individual who only potentially damaged a private company's profits?
Shouldn't a fine be sufficient considering only money was at stake?
Bootleggers are closely related to white collar criminals. The only impact is financial. In the case of Enron, or some other fraud situations, I would much rather have seen the offenders be forced to work the rest of their lives to repay the retirement funds they looted etc.. rather than getting what amounts to a monetary slap on the wrist and jail time. I am pretty sure the people who ended up getting pennies on the dollar out of the settlements would probably agree with me, just as I would bet most people would rather see the money spent on jailing this bootlegger spent on something like... oh... I don't know... anything that actually benefits society.
Regards.
Because it's not only about reform, it's about retribution.
It's the same reason we have the death penalty in this country. Sure, we can remove dangerous individuals from society. Hell, it's actually cheaper than killing them. No, the death penalty isn't a deterrent. Yes, we sometimes make mistakes. But it's not about what's best in the long run for society. It's about the sweet satisfaction you get from raw vengeance. It's not about the convict; nothing, and I mean nothing, is as cathartic for us as frying them in the chair.
The same is true about locking up non-violent offenders. We don't have to, and a lot of the time (especially in cases like these), it's not the best way to reform an individual. But the industry must have its pound of flesh from the evildoers that skimmed a few pennies from their deep, deep pockets.
sigh...
It should not be illegal to bring a camcorder into a movie theater.
It should be legal for the theater owner to throw someone out for bringing a camcorder into their movie theater.
Recording the movie with a camcorder should not be illegal.
Showing the recording of the movie to friends without an exchange of money or physical property should not be illegal.
Showing recordings of the movie to anyone for money or physical property to should be illegal.
This is the way copyright law needs to go.