New York City Film piracy penalty is now a misdemeanor

With the summer blockbuster movie season just ahead, City Hall and the Motion Picture Association of America are warning that secretly videotaping films is now a misdemeanor in New York City.

Days before the highly anticipated "Spider-Man 3" opens across the United States, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a new law on Tuesday that upgrades film piracy from a violation with a $250 (euro183) fine to a misdemeanor that carries up to six months in jail and penalties of up to $5,000 (euro3,675). More than 40 percent of bootlegged films are recorded in New York City theaters, the MPAA says. The duplications are typically sold for mass reproduction or posted on the Internet, sometimes just hours after the movie has premiered.