Teen Pleads Guilty in Rare Theater Filming Case
The teen arrested last month for filming 20 seconds of Transformers in a Virginia theater has pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully recording a motion picture in violation of state law.
The case is believed to be the first in which somebody was arrested and convicted for filming part of a movie for personal, noncommercial use in the United States.
The guilty plea (.pdf) by Jhannet Sejas, 19, a Marymount University sophomore, spared her a maximum year in jail. Under last week's deal in Arlington County General District Court, Sejas was fined $71 in court costs and could have been on the hook for a maximum $2,500 fine, according to court records.
When arrested on her birthday last month, the Annandale, Virginia, resident said she was taking the short clip with a Canon PowerShot to show her 13-year-old brother. Neither Sejas nor her attorney were immediately available for comment. If Sejas stays out of trouble for a year, the misdemeanor will be expunged from her record.
According to the most recent numbers by the Motion Picture Association of America, movie pirating has cost the industry $18.2 billion worldwide. An association spokeswoman said figures for 2006 are expected soon.
Patrick Corcoran, a spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, said 104 theater personnel nationwide in the last three years have been awarded about $500 each, in a joint venture between the owners association and the MPAA, for identifying pirates in movie houses.
"One of the dilemmas that employees face is trying to decide who is copying for distribution and who's taking just a quick screenshot, which isn't as harmful but is against the law in most jurisdictions," Corcoran said in an interview.
In a statement, he added: "We hope that this case reinforces our efforts to educate the public that unauthorized recording, whether a clip or the whole film, in movie theaters is against the law."
