MONTREAL - The RCMP claim that when it came to ironing out imperfections in pirated movies, very few in the world had a touch like Geremi Adam.
Adam, 25, is facing two counts under the Copyright Act of knowingly distributing copyrighted material - pirated Hollywood films - on the Internet.
The charges mark the first time the RCMP has used the Copyright Act to fight alleged distribution of pirated movies on the Internet. They come after a 14-month delay following Adam's arrest in Montreal as police and the Crown secured what is largely computerized evidence.
"It's a new technology-in the past the quality (of the camcorded product) was so bad that nobody was interested in buying it," RCMP Staff Sgt. Noel St-Hilaire said in an interview.
Police allege Adam sold the films under the Internet alias of Maven, with the pirated flicks destined for sale on the web and on Canadian streets.
Each copy sold likely fetched anywhere between $300 and $1,000, St-Hilaire said.
None of the allegations against Adam have been proven in court.
St-Hilaire added it's impossible to know just how many films may have been distributed. The RCMP investigations began in April 2006.
"He was referred to us by the FBI," said St-Hilaire. "They had an investigation in the States."
He noted additional information came from the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association.
Adam was arrested in September 2006 outside a theatre after allegedly recording "How to Eat Fried Worms" and "Invincible."
A laptop and other recording equipment were seized, but about a month later, Adam was detained again at another theatre.
Because of when those incidents occurred, the Mounties will not pursue Adam under new tougher criminal legislation enacted in June aimed at stamping out camcording.
"Unfortunately at the time there was no legislation that forbid anyone from filming in a cinema," St-Hilaire said. "There's not much we could do then other than a warning."
That has changed since June, when the government passed Bill C-59, amending the Criminal Code to make recording a movie without permission a crime punishable by two years in jail. Taping a film for future sale or rental carries a maximum five-year jail term.
Canada, and Montreal in particular, has a reputation worldwide for being the video piracy capital of North America.
"Since 2003, more than 200 films recorded by camcorder have been found on the Internet, identified as originating from Montreal cinemas," said Gary Osmond of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association.
Another Montreal man is facing charges related to alleged movie piracy.
Louis-Rene Hache, 23, has been charged with one count of recording in a movie theatre and one count of recording in a movie theatre for commercial distribution.
Hache is believed to be the first person charged under the new Criminal Code amendments.
Adam is to appear in court on Jan. 30 while Hache is due in court on Jan. 21.
Source
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/crime_movie_piracy
