Cinema ban for mobiles in war on film pirates

July 21, 2005

I've never heard of mobile phones being an issue
with movie piracy but at the Edinburgh Scotland Film Festival, if ya bring one,
they're gonna take them from ya at the door. The film distributors have hired
security companies that do other major premieres and will now do a thorough
check of your bag and coat at the door and confiscate any cell phone or
recording device.

The way it looks there, it doesn't matter who you
are cause actors Elijah Wood and Richard E. Grant were searched also. Imagine
that, actors pirating their own movies. As if they didn't make enough money. It
would also amount to the irony of ironies. What a world.

It would seem that one would have to be desperate to pirate a movie clip with
a mobile phone. I don't even own one and know that the quality would be less
than vhs quality and who wants to go back to that format...YIKES!!!!!

The
concerns have been raised because of next-generation mobile phone cameras,
which can take film clips of almost three minutes, as well as still
pictures.

Aimed at youngsters, who are among the biggest buyers
of counterfeit DVDs, the talk will focus on why piracy is a crime and what
the industry is doing to try to combat the problem.

Charlotte Tudor, a spokeswoman for BVI, said: "The
industry is very focused on combating piracy and we always try to protect
screenings before an American release, as that is where pirates will want
to strike. These people are criminals who are undermining the UK and
international film industry, so we feel it is right to take these
precautions."

THE Federation Against Copyright Theft estimates that
film piracy costs the UK industry more than Â£450 million a year and the
Motion Picture Association of America claims bootleg DVDs and videos cost
the industry Â£1.7bn a year worldwide.

To see whats up in Edinburgh and the ridiculous lengths
film companies will go to, head over to the Edinburgh Times and check it out.

Source: Edinburgh News