Catching Movie Pirates -- Hollywood's Mission: Possible

LOS ANGELES, May 9, 2006 — -- You'd think so-called movie pirates would be more technically advanced than having to sit in a theater with a camcorder to make shaky, grainy bootleg copies of a film. But Hollywood executives said that is exactly what some theater patrons tried to pull off during the opening weekend of "Mission: Impossible III."

Police suspect the "pirates" were planning to sell their illegal copies for hundreds and maybe thousands of dollars online and on the streets.

The Motion Picture Association of America has stepped up efforts to catch camcorder-toting moviegoers, and the association said its efforts are paying off. Four people have been caught in California, Illinois and Taipei, Taiwan, allegedly trying to make bootleg copies of "Mission: Impossible III."

MPAA President Dan Glickman said he believes all the suspects were either going to upload the film to the Internet or make copies to sell on the streets.

"They certainly are eligible to be charged with a federal crime," Glickman told ABC News. "In most states, this is a state crime as well."

The MPAA claims its industry loses billions of dollars each year in illegally copied first-run films. That is why the MPAA said its employees have been training theater workers to recognize ways people sneak in camcorders to make bootleg copies.

The group began a campaign last week to raise awareness about counterfeit DVD sales. In Los Angeles, police said it was moviegoers who alerted theater workers about a woman who had brought a camcorder into the theater. The employees called the LAPD, and officers arrested the woman and charged her with videotaping a movie in a theater.

The fines for getting caught are not cheap. Last year President Bush signed the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, giving police greater authority to arrest suspected movie pirates. If convicted, first-time offenders can be fined $250,000 and sentenced to up to three years in prison.

In Taiwan, the penalties are stiff as well. Police said a man in a Taipei suburb was found with a digital video camera and a Secure Digital Memory Card containing the first 15 minutes of "Mission Impossible: III."

"Within hours of illegal camcording of a film from a theater screen, countless digital copies are available for download through the Internet, and hard copies are being burned onto DVDs for resale," said Mike Ellis, senior vice president of the Singapore-based Asia-Pacific Motion Picture Association.