VZCZCXYZ0018
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMT #1220/01 3461550
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121550Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL MONTREAL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0365
INFO RUCNCAN/ALCAN COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

UNCLAS MONTREAL 001220 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Ref: MONTREAL 365, Montreal 436 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAN, WHA/PD, EB/TPP/IPC, DS/IP/WHA 
PASS TO USTR (SULLIVAN, MELLE, GARDE) 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR CA
SUBJECT:  Camcording in Montreal theaters: perspectives 
from industry and law enforcement 
 
 
This message is Sensitive but Unclassified 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment:  The Canadian Motion Picture 
Distributors Association's (CMPDA) Montreal anti-piracy 
division and the Montreal division of the Royal Canadian 
Mounted Police (RCMP) gave two different perspectives on 
the scope and impact of camcording in Montreal theaters to 
Econcouns and Econoff on December 6.  The CMPDA continues 
to stress the negative impact of theater camcording and the 
lack of both law enforcement attention and legislative measures 
to combat the problem.  The Motion Picture Association now 
estimates that through the third quarter of 2006, 18 
percent of pirated movies sold around the world can be 
traced to camcording in Montreal theaters--a revision of 
the 40 to 50 percent figure given to Econoff in March (ref 
A).  The Association has not determined the financial 
losses due to camcording, but estimates that CMPDA members 
in Canada lost USD 118 million in 2005 due to general 
piracy.  The CMPDA also states that one individual may be 
responsible for most of these camcorded movies.  The 
Association has lobbied the Canadian government to step up 
efforts to stop theater camcording and to make it a 
criminal offense. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Montreal RCMP officers consider theater camcording 
to be a low priority, and focus their IPR enforcement 
resources on violations that have a public safety dimension 
(such as counterfeit pharmaceuticals) or that cause serious 
financial losses.  The officers expressed skepticism as to 
the scale of the camcording problem and its impact on 
Canadian industry.  The RCMP has encouraged industry 
representatives such as the CMPDA to undertake their own 
investigations of movie piracy and pursue civil litigation 
under the Copyright Act.  Using casework developed by the 
CMPDA, the RCMP has twice arrested the individual believed 
to be behind most Montreal camcording. The Crown Prosecutor 
may bring charges early next year Q but even if convicted, 
the alleged perpetrator will not receive jail time, 
according to the RCMP. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The lack of an anti-camcording provision in 
Canada's criminal code introduces a significant "gray area" 
into the legality of bringing a video recorder into a movie 
theater.  This aside, the lack of hard figures about the 
extent of camcording in Montreal theaters, the impact of 
this camcording on movie piracy worldwide, and especially 
the financial injury this piracy inflicts on the 
entertainment industry in Canada have hindered our case in 
advocating the introduction of anti-camcording provisions 
in Canadian law.  Given the RCMP's little interest in 
pursuing camcording, the lack of deterrent penalties for 
filming in theaters, and the ever-improving technology of 
cameras and computers, we would be surprised if this high- 
tech pastime disappears anytime soon in Montreal. 
End Summary and Comment. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Industry Sees an Acute Camcording Problem, Urges Action 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) A representative from the CMPDA's anti-piracy 
operations in Montreal told Econoffs that his organization 
has revised its statistics with regard to the role played 
by Montreal camcording in movie piracy worldwide.  While 
previous statistics based on Motion Picture Association 
(MPA) figures estimated that between 40 percent and 50 
percent of all pirated films could be traced to Montreal 
theaters, new figures indicate that this percentage is 
closer to 18 percent.  This percentage is based on MPA 
estimates through the first three-quarters of 2006 showing 
that 54 of 60 theater camcordings in Canada occurred in 
Montreal--out of a total of 295 camcordings worldwide. 
The MPA based its data on examinations of movie watermarks 
in pirated DVDs that can be traced back to specific 
theaters (see ref A).  (Comment:  The Canadian government 
and the RCMP have questioned the industry figures in the 
past.  The CMPDA claims that the contrast between the 
40-50% estimate of pirated films from Montreal theaters and 
the current 18% estimate is a result of the MPA taking a 
Qmore globalQ approach to its study of pirated films, and 
incorporating the contribution of other geographical areas-- 
especially Europe--to worldwide movie piracy.  The lack of 
hard data regarding the extent of theater camcording in 
Montreal and its financial impact is a source of difficulty 
in conveying the need for the inclusion of an anti- 
 
camcording provision in CanadaQs criminal code.  End 
Comment) 
 
¶5. (SBU) The CMPDA representative laid out a picture of 
camcording in Montreal theaters as the product of one well- 
organized individual with links to global piracy circles. 
According to the CMPDA, the individual camcorded movies at 
five large theaters in the greater Montreal area, usually 
on the first afternoon of a filmQs release.  Using a high- 
quality webcam, the individual recorded films directly to 
his computerQs hard drive to capture a high-quality image. 
He would then transfer the movie file to high-capacity 
storage hard drives in his home.  The CMPDA stated that a 
select group of individuals involved in the pirated 
industry around the world--including in the United States 
--could then gain access to the hard drives and merely 
"drag and drop" the full film file onto their own hard 
drives.  The high-tech nature and relative simplicity of 
this system helps explain how films such as "The Chronicles 
of Narnia" could be shown in a Montreal theater and later 
sold in DVD form on big city streets within a matter of 
hours. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The act of camcording in a theater is not illegal 
under Canadian law, and only becomes an offense when a 
camcorded movie is distributed on the internet or in 
another form, according to the CMPDA.  The CMPDA has urged 
the Canadian government to introduce an anti-camcording 
provision in the criminal code, which would give both local 
police officers and RCMP officers the power to arrest 
individuals caught camcording in theaters.  The CMPDA says 
that currently, only the RCMP (CanadaQs federal police) can 
act against individuals camcording movies and only if the 
camcorded movies are subsequently distributed for sale. 
Even if a theater manager spots someone camcording a film, 
local police will refer inquiries to the RCMP.  The CMPDA 
says that in order to convict someone under the Copyright 
Act, it is not enough to see someone in a theater with a 
camcorder in order to bring a case against him or 
her.  One must actually prove "commercial intent" on the 
part of the person filming, who might claim that they are 
simply recording a copy for personal use.  "We need to 
catch [the person filming] while they are actually setting 
up," the CMPDA official stated, and then be able to prove 
that the movie in question appeared in pirated form 
afterwards. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The CMPDA has helped train theater employees at 
key Montreal-area theaters to detect camcording.  The 
Association says it is difficult to spot individuals 
camcording for commercial use given the ease of set-up, the 
small size of webcams, and the fact that they have no red 
light or other telltale indicator.  Furthermore, even if 
law enforcement stops an individual during the course of 
the movie, he can press a "stop" button to avoid saving the 
film, and his computer will have no record of wrongdoing. 
However, if law enforcement officials are able to catch the 
suspect while he or she is leaving the theater, after 
having recorded the film to his or her hard drive, they 
might have a chance of pressing charges, the CMPDA said. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Major Player Arrested and Released Twice 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) According to the CMPDA, this was the case in the 
beginning of September when the CMPDA collected evidence 
that facilitated the RCMP's arrest of the individual whose 
recordings had been allegedly transformed into pirated DVDs 
around the world.  The RCMP released the individual after 
questioning, with the caveat that he was not to return to 
movie theaters in the city.  Although the number of 
camcordings traced to Montreal dropped significantly for 
one month following the arrest, it gradually increased 
again.  Convinced that the individual had resumed his 
camcording, the CMPDA collected further evidence and 
convinced the RCMP to arrest him for a second time in 
October.  The CMPDA official noted that the suspect was 
again released after being questioned by RCMP officers and 
with the understanding that he could not enter a movie 
theater.  The CMPDA official stated that it was unclear how 
much money the suspect had received for each incidence of 
camcording. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
Arrests -"A Favor" to Industry; Camcording "Not a Major 
Problem," According to Law Enforcement 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) A discussion with a superintendent and a staff 
sergeant combating intellectual property crimes at the 
RCMP's Montreal headquarters yielded a different 
perspective on camcording and the best means of tackling 
the issue.  The RCMP states that it focuses its limited 
IPR-dedicated resources to issues that have health and 
safety components (e.g., counterfeit pharmaceuticals) or 
that have a large, demonstrable financial impact.  The RCMP 
is currently undertaking a "fact-finding mission" on all 
IPR issues as part of its mission to combat "economic 
Crime" to determine what sorts of problems exist and how 
best to address them with existing resources. 
 
¶10. (SBU) With regard to the arrest of the individual who 
had been pursued by the CMPDA, RCMP officers stated that 
they arrested the individual "as a personal favor" to a 
CMPDA official, and that they did not view theater 
camcording as "a major issue."  The officers said that IPR 
holders could pursue legal action against suspects engaged 
in camcording via the civil code without needing to engage 
the RCMP.  They acknowledged, however, that a conviction 
under the civil code would not result in prison time, and 
would usually involve a relatively small fine.  The RCMP 
officers also took a different view of the camcording 
suspect, seeing him as "a small player," being manipulated 
by a larger piracy organization(s), and not receiving 
lucrative financial rewards for his work.  One RCMP officer 
expressed concern that the RCMP not be seen as "the 
enforcement arm of industry," noting that the "industry 
comes to [the RCMP] more and more" with requests for 
action.  Although the RCMP officers suggested that industry 
representatives could pursue litigation through the civil 
code on their own, they commented that proving an 
individual had a commercial purpose to his camcording could 
be difficult. 
 
Marshall