VZCZCXRO6372
RR RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHMT #0058/01 0441324
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131324Z FEB 07 ZDK
FM AMCONSUL MONTREAL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0431
INFO RUCNCAN/ALCAN COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONTREAL 000058 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (PAR 1 AND 5) 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SECSTATE FOR WHA/CAN, WHA/PD, DS/IP/WHA, EB/TPP/IPE 
State please pass to USTR for Sullivan, Melle, and Garde 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR CA
SUBJECT:  CANADIAN FILM INDUSTRY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN AGAINST MOVIE 
PIRACY, PRESSURES GoC TO TOUGHEN ANTI-CAMCORDING LAWS 
 
REF:  06 Montreal 365, 06 Montreal 1220 
 
MONTREAL 00000058  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
This message is Sensitive but Unclassified 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Representatives from Cineplex Entertainment, which operates 
Canada's largest chain of movie theaters, expressed their 
frustration with the lack of an anti-camcording provision in the 
Canadian criminal code to Econ MinCouns and other Mission Canada 
representatives in Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto during a Digital 
Video Conference on February 7.  Econ MinCouns and Econoff also 
toured a Cineplex theater in Montreal, which has gained an 
unfortunate reputation recently as a hub for camcording activity, 
and hosts some of Cineplex's current efforts to catch camcorders. 
Ellis Jacob, Cineplex's President and CEO, noted that the company is 
working with the Canadian Motion Picture Distributor's Association 
(CMPDA) to convince the Canadian government to take the camcording 
issue more seriously, but both have thus far encountered resistance 
from the GoC, which claims that existing copyright laws are 
sufficient to deter film pirates and punish those who have been 
caught in the act.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
"Pirates of the Canadians" draws public attention to film piracy 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The camcording issue has received a great deal of media 
attention in recent weeks, with articles like The Globe and MailQs 
mid-January "Pirates of the Canadians" calling attention to the 
problem of camcording in Canadian theaters, especially in Montreal, 
and the impact of this camcording on boosting sales of pirated DVDs 
worldwide.  Twentieth Century Fox has allegedly threatened 
Toronto-based Cineplex Entertainment, which operates 130 locations 
and 1267 screens across Canada, with the possibility of stopping (or 
delaying) the release of its most popular first-run films to 
Canadian theaters unless the epidemic of camcording comes under 
control.  A move like this would, according to Jacob, "place Canada 
at the bottom of the list of movie access." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Press reports have cited a wide range of figures to 
describe the scale of the camcording problem in Canada, and there is 
a lack of a consensus on just how much camcorded movies from Canada 
actually contributes to global sales of pirated films. [See REFTELS] 
According to the most recent statistics released by the CMPDA, 
between 20 and 25% of the camcording incidents worldwide in 2006 
occurred in a Canadian theater (a previous CMPDA statistic placed 
that figure at 50%).  However, a few observers say that the industry 
is exaggerating the magnitude of the problem.  Michael Geist, a law 
professor at the University of Ottawa, wrote a series of editorials 
questioning the industry figures about film piracy in Canada.  He 
also argued that current Canadian law is sufficiently strong to 
counter the problem. 
According to Cineplex, the CMPDA will respond to the fictitious 
claims and will defend the accuracy of the industry figures and 
highlight the need for stronger anti-camcording laws. The Cineplex 
interlocutors said that Geist has been a longstanding challenger on 
this issue. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Cineplex representatives stated that Montreal remains a hub 
for camcording activity in Canada, although there have been recent 
incidents of camcording in western Canada as well.  They cited the 
links between organized crime groups in Montreal and film piracy 
networks as one explanation for Montreal's continued dubious status 
as the film piracy capital of Canada, as well as the lure of being 
able to capture a popular film in French and English.  New York's 
diminished attractiveness for potential "cammers" in the wake of 
high-profile arrests and the threat of stiff fines for film pirates 
might also have pushed camcorders to Montreal, according to 
Cineplex. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Cineplex pushes for tougher laws, takes action in its theaters 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Cineplex has supplied the GoC with suggested changes in the 
criminal code, which would make the act of camcording itself a 
criminal offense, rather than the status quo which requires proof of 
"commercial intent" on the part of the person filming.  The lack of 
a strong anti-camcording provision in CanadaQs criminal code 
introduces a significant "gray area" into the legality of bringing a 
video recorder into a movie theater, an ambiguity that Cineplex 
wants removed. "Just a minor modification in law would be needed to 
 
MONTREAL 00000058  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
make a big impact," according to 
Jacob.  But the Canadian government has so far, according to 
Cineplex, declined to accept the proposed language, stating that the 
Copyright Act as it is currently written is sufficient to combat 
film piracy. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Cineplex Entertainment recently sent a letter to incoming 
Justice Minister Nicholson, asking for a tougher anti-camcording law 
and for IPR to be looked at as a higher-priority area by the 
Canadian government.  Cineplex has not yet received a reply.  On 
February 9, EconMinCouns raised the growing camcording issue with PM 
Harper's top domestic policy advisor Mark Cameron, who seemed 
sympathetic to the matter. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In late January 2007, Cineplex succeeded in getting a 
court to issue a trespassing order to keep out of its theaters 
several individuals who were arrested in October 2006 for 
camcording.  The trespass order, which according to Cineplex is the 
first of its kind to be issued by a movie exhibitor, applies to all 
Cineplex theaters throughout Canada. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
To catch a "cammer": View from a Montreal Theater 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Cineplex has initiated a series of training programs in its 
theaters to teach its employees to spot camcorders.  Econ MinCouns 
and Econoff toured a theater in downtown Montreal to see some of 
these programs in action.  The theater itself has a number of 
posters and pamphlets, near the ticket booth, alerting moviegoers 
that camcording is a crime. "Piracy is illegal.  If you see it, 
report it," reads one pamphlet, adding "If you do notice illegal 
activities during the film presentation please advise a member of 
our team and you could be eligible for a reward."  In addition, a 
public service announcement about the illegality of camcording plays 
on many screens before the movie begins. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Cineplex employees are heartened by the fact that the 
pirated films that have been traced to theaters in Canada do not 
appear to have been filmed from inside the projection booth itself 
(which would imply the existence of an "inside job") but rather are 
of a poorer quality resulting from being captured from audience 
seating.  Camcorders usually set up their operations on the upper 
left side of the theater, where they have an unobstructed view of 
the screen and where the image will not be marred by other movie 
goers moving to and from their seats during the film. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Cineplex employees move through the theater, visiting each 
screen once, ten or fifteen minutes before the movie begins, (since 
movie pirates frequently set up their equipment well before the 
movie starts to get the best possible position for filming), and 
then once approximately every twenty minutes thereafter, with 
night-vision goggles, looking for suspicious behavior.  Each 
employee also carries a picture of the individuals who have been 
arrested for camcording in Montreal and remain under investigation. 
During weekend shows, Cineplex employees in street clothes patrol 
theaters for signs of malfeasance.  These new self-enforcement 
arrangements in theaters are, according to one Cineplex 
representative, "not something we would have thought of five years 
ago."  Despite these efforts, one Cineplex representative expressed 
frustration with the continued problem of camcording: "When we found 
out that the film Night at the Museum was pirated", one 
representative noted, "we realized that we had missed something." 
Although night vision goggles give theater employees a better view 
of activities inside the theater, Cineplex admits that such tools do 
not offer a fool-proof method of catching camcorders, whose 
increasingly sophisticated techniques and miniature equipment help 
stymie detection efforts. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Even when Cineplex employees have managed to catch 
individuals in the act of camcording a film, or setting up their 
equipment before the film begins, they have been hard-pressed to 
take immediate action.  "Even if we catch [camcorders]," one 
Cineplex employee lamented, "we can't do anything.  We call the 
police, and they show up an hour or an hour and a half later.  By 
that time, the person is gone."  Cineplex notes that neither its 
employees nor the police can confiscate the camcorders of 
individuals who are caught pirating films.  And although Cineplex 
takes the issue of film piracy "very seriously," its employees 
recognize that it is "disturbing" for law-abiding movie-goers to 
have their bags searched when they come to a theater, and note that 
some guests have been taken aback at the sight of theater employees 
sporting night vision goggles appearing in their screening rooms at 
regular intervals. 
 
 
MONTREAL 00000058  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) Cineplex staff point out that camcording appears limited 
to first-run U.S.-made films.  They were aware of only one recent 
instance where a Canadian film, the popular Quebec-made Bon Cop, Bad 
Cop, may have been a victim of camcording. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Despite efforts by Cineplex to alert movie customers about 
the illegality of camcording, Canadian law is not so clear.  The 
lack of generally-accepted statistics about the frequency of 
camcording in Canadian theaters as well as the lack of hard figures 
on the harm film piracy causes to Canadian industry is hindering our 
ability to make a strong case for the need for stronger laws and 
enforcement in Canada.  The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) 
continues to claim being stretched too thin because of other 
priorities to deal with this matter effectively. But the increase in 
media attention to film piracy has at least raised public awareness 
on the subject, and as Canadian industry increases its pressure on 
the GoC to act, it may become more difficult for the GOC to defend 
the status quo as sufficient to deter and prosecute film pirates. 
 
Marshall