MPAA SHOCKER: “PreVail” Cammer Gets Small Fine, No Jail Time

Gets off easy, had faced up to 90 years imprisonment and over $1 million USD in fines for copyright infringement.

The MPAA and the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) have suffered an unusually embarrassing blow with news that 26yo Craig Farrugia of Australia was freed after pleading guilty to 18 counts of copyright infringement, and even after having been found to be be “part of an organized criminal conspiracy” in the process.

Farrugia had been accused of supplying the PreVail “Scene” group with illegal camcordings of a number recently-released movies including: “He’s Just Not That Into You”, “Marley and Me”, “Yes Man”, “Bedtime Stories”, and “Beverley Hills Chihuahua.”

Each count could have meant up to 5 years and prison (90yrs total) and a $43,311 USD fine. Instead he was immediately released on an 18mo non-custodial “good behavior bond” and fined a mere $3,866 USD.

The charges arose from a 13 February raid by New South Wales Police, supported by investigators from the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), in which sophisticated video camcording and computer equipment was seized. Tests of the equipment apparently confirmed that it had been used for making the illegal CAMs cited before.

AFACT investigators and the MPAA have to be dejected by the sentencing because of all the work involvd and the fact that the conviction really won’t serve as the “powerful message to others” that it had hoped for.

Magistrate Keady, whom presided over the trial, had even declared that Farrugia’s actions were “..part of an organised criminal conspiracy” and even compared it to home burglary.

“[The movie industry is] ..entitled to the same protection of their property as are householders whose house is broken into and property removed,” he said. “It is a property offense similar to that of larceny.”

Too bad the “larceny” in this case hasn’t seemed to prevent the MPAA from being on pace to break the already record-breaking previous year’s ticket sales, both domestic and overseas.

The MPAA tried to play up the successful prosecution, but did lament the fact that Farrugia got off easy.

“While we are pleased with the very prompt closure of this matter, we are disappointed in the sentence meted out by the Court as it has failed to recognize the damage this particular crime can have on the industry,” said Mike Ellis, pres and manager of the MPAA’s Asia-Pacific region. “This illegal act of camcording can single-handedly destroy the ability of a movie to recoup the investment made in its production and adversely impact the business of cinemas, DVD retail outlets and on-line services around the world that rely on the downstream revenue of the movie. We hope for more stringent sentences to be passed in Australia to deter anyone thinking about camcording.”

This is the second Australian conviction for making illegal CAMs. In November 2007, Jose Duarte was convicted of camcording and distributing “The Simpsons Movie” on his mobile phone and uploading it to the Internet. The unauthorized recording was tracked to streaming sites and P2P systems within 72 hours of Duarte making and uploading it.

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