A Missouri man is the first to be indicted under a new federal law that prohibits people from secretly videotaping movies when they are shown in theaters, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday.
Curtis Salisbury, 19, used a camcorder to make copies of recent releases “The Perfect Man” and “Bewitched” and then distributed them through illicit computer networks that specialize in piracy, the Justice Department said.
A law that took effect in April prohibits such behavior.
Salisbury also downloaded several movies and software programs from the computer network, the Justice Department said.
Salisbury, who faces up to 17 years in prison, could not be reached for comment.
Entertainment industry insiders and tech-savvy hackers use “warez” networks, as they’re commonly known, to distribute movies, music and software for free, often before they’re released to the public.
The files then end up on peer-to-peer networks like Kazaa, where they can be downloaded by millions of people, or burned onto discs and sold on street corners.
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