http://torrentfreak.com/dozen-movie-cammers-caught-by-theater-workers-none-convicted-131223/Something seems a bit out of balance, a dozen incidents and 5 arrests involving camming. compared to how many letters being send and lawsuits for uploading a downloaded file.
Seriously, if you leave a window and some mosquito's get in, Do you kill all the mosquito's before shutting the window?
Over in the UK, where movies are often released a little later than in the US, cinema workers are given cash incentives to keep an eye out for would-be cammers. In a scheme in operation since 2006, staff can earn up to £500 each if they manage to stop a potential pirate in his or her tracks.
Nevertheless, the police do get called and according to stats released today by FACT, since April 2013 police have attended a dozen suspected camming instances in the UK on movies including Gravity, Captain Phillips, Rush, One Direction: This Is Us, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and Monsters University. A total of 15 vigilant staff will collect rewards of up to £500 each as a result.
“Cinema staff are the frontline in protecting films from being pirated and I am always pleased to be able to recognize their work,” said Kieron Sharp, FACT Director General, announcing what could amount to a total reward handout of £7,500.
“FACT’s strategy funded by the film distributors seeks to prevent the initial recording that seeds piracy globally. We continue to work together with UK cinema operators to support the success of the cinema experience and to allow continued investment by FACT’s members in exciting entertainment for all audiences.”
There can be little doubt that stopping recording in theaters by any means will be FACT’s goal (and they will no doubt be pleased with the results this year), but the details underline the weakness in the law which isn’t likely to be changed anytime soon.
Of a total 12 incidents (which by default must’ve included at least 12 people and probably many more) police arrested only five people and issued another nine with cautions. Just two are currently on police bail. Notably there is no mention of a single prosecution or conviction.
But despite the law favoring would-be pirates, FACT are still able to get the police to take camming seriously, especially when the allegations go beyond simple recording and into distribution. Earlier this year, police responded in large numbers to detain the same alleged movie pirate not once, but twice.
