Posted on 09/27/2005 7:51:25 AM PDT by SmithL
A 19-year-old movie theater cashier from Missouri faces eight years in prison after pleading guilty Monday in San Jose to copying first-run movies and uploading them onto the Internet, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Curtis Salisbury, who worked in a St. Louis multiplex theater, admitted to recording "Bewitched" and "The Perfect Man" in June, and then uploading them to a site set up by FBI agents in Northern California.
It was the first conviction under "Operation Copycat,'' an FBI sting operation designed to combat movie piracy.
"Camcording movies in theaters and putting them on the Internet for distribution is a federal crime,'' said U. S. Attorney Kevin Ryan. "(We) will aggressively ... combat the theft of intellectual property.''
According to court documents, Salisbury was a box office and concession stand cashier who allowed accomplices into the projection booth after the theater closed to copy the movies. Salisbury and his accomplices connected a mini-disc recorder directly to the projector sound outlet.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Good. The little twit deserves it.
>>admitted to recording "Bewitched"
I had nothing to do one night so I paid to see this stinker.
The movie itself is a crime! (In this week's Family Guy,
Stewie finds that the movie isn't funny so the baby flies all the way out to California to personally slap Will Ferrel's
face.)
Ooof - but it's not wrong! Waaa waaa waaa - it's not wrong I say! It's just like a Xerox and music! Waaa waaa waaa - it's not wrong!
Maybe they can sentence him to death. Then all the Hollywood stars could start a campaign to get him pardoned.
What, you think they wouldn't?
Holy crap! This guy set up a camcorder in my former girlfriend's apartment and mine!
Eight years? You'd get less than that for attempted murder in
most courts.Just more proof that Hollywood is willing to be generous with what is *mine*,but not with what is *theirs*.
I think that's silly. This is the one crime that Hollywood takes serious. Saddam. No problem. Copyright infringement. Big deal.
I can't imagine Hollywood is making any movies worth going to jail for (or paying for for that matter).
Ever watched a bootleg DVD from a cam-corded film? It's a horrible, headache-inducing experience. The sound is all screwed up and the film itself is blurry and displayed at a weird angle. I doubt Hollywood is losing buckets of money to these bootleggers. Hollywood is losing buckets of money because their product, with increasingly fewer and fewer exceptions, sucks. Same with the music industry.
He has not been sentenced. I find it improbable that he will get 8 years, or anything close.
I am all for the enforcement of copyright laws and stealing is stealing, however the FBI has no problem stinging some 19 year old for copying a few movies but can't seem to spot terrorists learning how to fly planes w/o wanting to know how to land. Their priorities are all screwed up!
They aren't, but we are. Instead of preventing another 9/11, the FBI (as usual) is ignoring Arabs with bombs and arresting 19 year-olds with camcorders.
You beat me to it.
These screwed up priorities is the real issue.
My wife and I saw that movie.. I agree. If you are going to copy a movie, copy something better than Bewitched..
how was he steered to upload to a site controlled by the FBI? I don't get it.
They must protect Hollywood's profits. Hollywood gives campaign donations. Of course, I've always found federal enforcement of this somewhat stupid in that the RIAA could do far more damage with a civil suit. And somewhat unfair, in that the FBI isn't going to go after anybody violating my copyrights.
indeed, that is what I take from this story also. it shows you how powerful the campaign cash from the MPAA and RIAA is in Washington - that this is the FBIs priority now.
I'm completely opposed to theft of IP; however I think you're right. The funny thing is Hollywood can't use the logic of...if you steal from hollywood the quality of movies will go down and you won't have enjoyable entertainment in the future. So the only way for them to protect their market is via force (note: it is a legit use of force...protection of property).
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