An anonymous reader writes:
For several weeks now Canadian Media plays right into the arms of the MPAA by propagating lies like "Canada is THE movie pirate ring of the planet". Obviously they never checked Asian countries. With such help the MPAA convinced the Canadian government to adopt legislation to treat Canadian moviegoers as criminals. What used to be illegal searches should now be performed by 16 year old kids.
But moviegoers will not be intimidated. Here is a women taking legal action against a cinema chain for the way she was treated in front of her little girls. (My translation of this French text)
"Outraged to be searched against her will, a lady from Montreal made a request for 60,000$ against the Guzzo cinemas. After a legal complaint against the managers of the establishment, she now intends to use the Quebec Charter [of rights and liberty] to have her rights recognized."[...]
Just before entering the projection room she was asked to open her bag, to which she was opposed. After she finally agreed, the employee "searches at full hands in a savage fashion de handbags".
"She had no intention to pirate a movie" she defends herself, since her bag did not contain a camera. She now asks for a 60,000$ in compensation and exemplary damages for her and her little girls.[...]
Against Pirates
This search constitute a legal security measure against pirates, according to Vincent Guzzo [...]. "Us, we have a real problem, he says, because of pirates the 20th Century Fox removed our Fantastic Four and Die Hard 4 from one of our theaters. Two of the three big block buster of the summer."
The moviegoer's lawyer states she was the victim of an abusive search "there are other ways to obtain the same result" suggesting X-Ray detectors.
"Do you know how much they cost? replies Mr. Guzzo, referring to 70,000$ airport equipment. Anyway we do not search everyone systematically. Security agents targets mainly men between 18 and 35, particularly when they carry knapsacks. We placed signs stating we reserve the right to search all bags."
Here to stay
The search is part of the mesure against pirates, an activity costing millions every year for Mr. Guzzo alone. In 2005 20% of illegal movies in the world came from Canada, according to the Canadian Movie Distribution Association. A fact [sic] the Harper [conservative] government intends to change. The law criminalizing pirate activities took effect on June 22.[...]
"We will continue these searches", claims Daniel Seguin VP exploitation at Cineplex Quebec and West-Canada. "We invite the public to tell our personnel if they witness any illegal recording activities in our theaters".
