Lights Out, Cameras Ready, Handcuffs On - Teenager Arrested During Transformers Movie
Pirating of major motion pictures usually takes place in theaters using camcorders and sometimes even tripods steady the cameras. Generally, the entire movie is filmed for distribution either on illegal DVDs or on the internet. The Motion Picture Association of America says the piracy is out of control and it is costing them billions of dollars annually in lost revenue.
According to the Washington-based National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), efforts to stop movie piracy and enforce the laws are being beefed up. They fully support a "zero-tolerance" policy of piracy at a theater level.
When college student Jhannet Sejas went out with her boyfriend on July 17th to celebrate her 19th birthday, she never imagined she would end up being arrested before the night was over. After having a fun evening out and taking silly pictures of themselves at Chick-fil-a with a borrowed camera, the couple decided to go to the Regal Cinemas theater to see the hit movie "Transformers".
The camera that Sejas had borrowed from her boyfriend's sister was a Canon Powershot. The Canon Powershot is a small, amateur camera that is generally used to take still snapshot type photos. The camera also has a function to allow short video clips to be filmed, and this is what got Sejas into trouble.
Sejas liked the movie so much that she decided to film a short clip of the movie to share with her little brother. She thought he would also like to come see the movie at the theater. She filmed 20 seconds of the "Transformers" movie so that she could show it to him later and see if he might like to go see the movie.
She was noticed by the assistant manager of the theater as she held the camera up to record the movie clip. The assistant manager told the manager about what he saw Sejas do and the manager immediately called police. Within minutes the Arlington police arrived at the theater, located Sejas and her boyfriend inside watching the movie and ordered them out.
Sejas is a Bolivian immigrant who works two part-time jobs in order to pay for her college education in the United States. She had no criminal record and was terrified by the police. She and her boyfriend had no idea what they had done wrong, and had not realized that filming the 20 second clip to share with her younger brother was against the law.
Police arrested Sejas and charged her with illegally recording a motion picture, which is a misdemeanor in Virginia, punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine. She was banned from ever returning to the theater and the camera that she had borrowed was seized as evidence in the case against her.
Regal Cinemas of Ballston Commons in Arlington, Virginia pressed charges against Sejas and wanted to make an example of her in an effort to stop movie piracy. The Arlington police said they had never seen a case like this before.
The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005 is a federal law which forbids the filming of a motion picture performance in a movie theater and if convicted of this felony offense, offenders can face up to three years behind bars. Sejas was not charged under this law, but under the Virginia anti-piracy statute.
Sejas appeared in Arlington County General District Court on August 21st and pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of illegally filming a motion picture in a theater owned by Regal Cinemas. Under the law, filming any part of a movie, even 20 seconds, is the same as filming the entire movie. She will be able to have the conviction removed from her previously non-existent criminal record, provided that she stays out of trouble.
Reportedly, the theater chain pressured prosecutors to go forward with the case. Even though Sejas's crime was not an outrageous one, she was prosecuted to send a message of zero-tolerance to other people thinking of recording movies while in the theater. Point taken, Regal Cinemas, point taken.
