Outlaw Cameras in Cinemas

[August1991]

Canada's reputation as the high seas of movie piracy has the federal government considering a move to make camcorders in theatres a crime.

"Our government is aware of the problem of piracy and the role of camcording in contributing to that problem," Heritage Minister Bev Oda said yesterday. "I am currently working with my colleague the minister of justice on measures to address this issue."

An interdepartmental working group is already considering an amendment to the Criminal Code as one way to stop the practice, a Canadian Heritage official says.

Unlike the U.S., Canada has nothing in its Criminal Code to combat camcording of movies in theatres.

Edmonton Sun

This is good news, and long overdue.

[Charles Anthony]

This is a ridiculous move.

Movie theaters can and should and do enforce this ban themselves. There is no need for the government to declare this illegal.

Should the "No shirt, No shoes, No service" rule be declared by government decree too?

A couple of weeks ago, I watched one of these CamCorder Pirate DVD movies for the first time in my life. I can guarantee you that it was an inside job. The positioning of the camera was motionless and perfectly centered.

[M.Dancer]

What I hate most about pirated DVDs is the quality. Until the quality of pirated DVDs improve, and they start including the bonus features, I ain't buying them.

On the other hand, a friend of mine often burns DVDs that he gets online for free. I saw Gladiator before it was released, but this annoying message kept popping up, something like ...

"For Academy judging only" "Not for public release"

Well, to me, that sounded like a dare.......

[Wilber]

This is a ridiculous move.

Movie theaters can and should and do enforce this ban themselves. There is no need for the government to declare this illegal.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched one of these CamCorder Pirate DVD movies for the first time in my life. I can guarantee you that it was an inside job. The positioning of the camera was motionless and perfectly centered.

If it was an inside job, obviously the theater has no interest in enforcing a ban unless they are forced to.

[Mad_Michael]

This is good news, and long overdue.

What? Disney's right to steal from the public domain must be protected?

Did you know the greatest economic growth comes from ignoring copyright and patents? That's how the USA built itself into the largest economy on the planet. Britain which was obsessed with the importance of her intellectual patents was left behind economically.

Same thing is happening now between China and USA, with USA cast in the role of Britain - fighting to protect their wealthy elites.

I'm not making any comment upon whether it is right or wrong to ignore copyrights or patents. I'm only observing that countries that are obsessed with protecting them tend to be the economic losers in the long run while those who ignore them tend to be very successful in so doing.

[geoffrey]

What interest does a theatre have in enforcing the ban CA? It's one less ticket to sell.

[August1991]

Did you know the greatest economic growth comes from ignoring copyright and patents? That's how the USA built itself into the largest economy on the planet. Britain which was obsessed with the importance of her intellectual patents was left behind economically.

Same thing is happening now between China and USA, with USA cast in the role of Britain - fighting to protect their wealthy elites.

What a convoluted, self-serving and false argument to justify theft.

In case you don't know, countries don't become rich by theft. They become rich through trade. That's an idea that is unfortunately still misunderstood almost 250 years after Adam Smith first noticed it.

The protection of intellectual property rights is an affair of technology and law. Canada's law must change.

Piracy north of the border has exploded in the two years since Congress made it a crime to use video recording devices to copy movies in U.S. theaters, according to industry officials. But with piracy laws more relaxed in Canada, bootleggers can operate there almost risk free.

...

About 1 in 5 pirated movies worldwide originates in Canada, with pirates there on pace to illegally produce 150 films this year, more than double the country's 2005 output, according to the Motion Picture Assn. of America.

In fact, just last week the U.S. trade representative's office put Canada on its 2007 "watch list" for protection of intellectual property, citing "continuing concern" over the country's "failure to prohibit the unauthorized camcording of films in movie theaters."

LA Times

It may be true that movies are copied now with the connivance of projectionists or employees of cinema chains but ultimately it is our weak laws that are at fault.

The federal government must amend the criminal code. I think it should draft changes for file sharing software and access to ISPs too.

Apart from the principle involved, if we don't act, the Americans are going to act on their own. Movies will be released in Burma, Angola and North Korea before they open in Canada.

[geoffrey]

Should a company not pay for it's own protection though August? Why should I subsidize Columbia Music's bottom line with my tax dollars to defend their digital rights?

[Charles Anthony]

I am going to back-track.

I now believe this is an excellent law solely for the following reason: it placates Americans and gives them the illusion that Canadians are doing something to stop movie piracy.

Should a company not pay for it's own protection though August? Why should I subsidize Columbia Music's bottom line with my tax dollars to defend their digital rights?

So that Canadians can see wonderful American movies before people do in Burma, Angola and Korea.

We would certainly not want the Canadian theater market to be invaded by a disproportionate volume of foreign movies now, would we?

We certainly would not want our small-size repertoire theaters to have a competitive advantage either.

By the way, camcorder pirate movies started in Asia in the 1980's -- long before it flourished in Canada.

What interest does a theatre have in enforcing the ban CA? It's one less ticket to sell.

I presume you are being sarcastic.

Make no doubt about this: the piracy is an inside job. Anybody who is pushing this "camera ban" thinking they will prevent the public movie-goer from recording movies while sitting in the theater is barking up the wrong tree.

I get frisked for weapons and recording devices by a bouncer every time I walk into a night-club or an out-door concert. Movie theaters can do the same. The ONLY thing that the movie theater disallows is surprise, surprise! OUTSIDE FOOD! Go figure.

If it was an inside job, obviously the theater has no interest in enforcing a ban unless they are forced to.

There is no "if" in this matter. The problem with movie piracy is NOT from the public sneaking recording devices into theaters.

In the grand scheme of things, this law really is not that much of a waste of public effort. Just recently we paid our politicians to decide who should be allowed to play hockey.

[Riverwind]

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[Riverwind]

Did you know the greatest economic growth comes from ignoring copyright and patents?

Patents and copyrights are two very different things and should never be mixed in the same argument. Copyrights are essential to economic growth and it is incredibly naive to believe that any of the technology that we have today would exist if it was not for copyright protections.

Unlike patents, copyrights do not stop others from innovating - it just stops people from making a copy something that already exists.

Copyright holders need laws to support them because they simply do not have the power to enforce their rights without state support unless we wanted to allow copyright holders to run their own jails to keep violators that have no significant assets.

[August1991]

Should a company not pay for it's own protection though August? Why should I subsidize Columbia Music's bottom line with my tax dollars to defend their digital rights?

I suppose if you park your car in a private parking lot, and then the car is stolen, you could sue the car lot owner in civil court for negligence. Heck, if it was the car lot attendant who was the thief, you could still sue him in civil court for damages. (In a sense, all criminal suits could be handled in civil court. Of course, if your car is a Lamborghini and the attendant earns minimum wage, threat of a civil suit isn't much of a deterrent.)

The cinema problem is that it's not clear who owns the car. You claim that it's yours and the car lot attendant claims that it's his.

We have to define more clearly intellectual property rights and one step along the road to do that is to amend the Criminal Code.

Moreover, we call police to protect our property because that is more civilized (and less wasteful) than keeping a gun at home.

[stignasty]

I have the hard time with the analogy between videotaping a movie and stealing a car. I don't believe they are the same and I don't think they should be treated the same.