Chicago Woman Sues Movie Theater
Muvico Theaters is being sued by a 22-year-old Chicago woman over her arrest and brief jailing after filming a couple of brief snippets of Twilight:New Moon. The arrest highlighted the raised intensity of the MPAA’s current anti-piracy efforts. They even go so far as to reward (i.e. bribe) movie workers with $500 for turning in suspected pirates.
This “reward” seems to have been the start of the whole incident. The woman was celebrating her sister’s birthday with some friends, and was filming short clips of them together. Upon being discovered by a theater employee, she was brought before police that had been called to the scene. The police were reluctant to charge her, but did after the manager pressed hard for an arrest. The woman then spent 2 days in jail, and was eventually released after the D.A. declined to prosecute.
This is a perfect example of how ridiculous our copyright laws are enforced. I’m not sure how putting a person in jail for filming a short clip helps stop piracy. It would seem that jailing your customers over trivialities is a bad way to maintain a business.