Piracy suspect says tapings werent illegal
Publish date: 29 June 2005
Issue Number: 1087
Diary: Legalbrief eLaw
Category: Copyright
Johnny Ray Gasca, a piracy suspect, whom the FBI has called the poster boy of movie piracy, has claimed that the taping of movies in theatres was not illegal at the time he was arrested.
Gasca is accused of taping movies at pre-release screenings and selling the copies he made over the Internet. But, the Los Angeles Times notes, although Gasca is the first person to be tried on allegations of stealing movies using a camcorder (this became a federal crime on April 27), he is charged with criminal copyright infringement and is not on trial for breaking the law adopted this year. Gasca is also charged with witness retaliation, threatening movie industry officials and using a false identification and faces as many as 25 years in jail if convicted on all counts. Full report in the Los Angeles Times
