CANADIAN FILM INDUSTRY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN AGAINST MOVIE

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