The New York herald., 1922-03-27
Hard Penalties in New Bill.

/ The measure provides heavy penalties
for persons convicted of traficking in
any stolen or duplicated films, either In
interstate or foreign commerce, and also
holds responsible the buyer or receiver
of such films. providing fine Of $4,000
or imprisonment for five years. or both.
THE exhibition of stolen or duplicated
films in foreign countries hurts the gen.
eral film trade here" said Mr.. Pitman.
because foreigners do not generally un-
derstand the situation and feel that the
+film industry Is negligent in failing
sometimes to protect legitimate buyers
against prints that have been stolen.
duplicated and sold for exhibition
abroad.
while the State laws provide that
larceny is a criminal offense they have
been found inadequate in the case OF
pirating films owing to the fact that
the degree of larceny is determined by
the value of the article stolen. The
criminal courts take into consideration
only the reproduction cost of stolen
film, but the actual loss to a company
Is many times greater than its replace
ment cost.
Films usually are stolen at the insti-
cation of receivers of stolen property
who deal in stolen films and the export
thereof. These persons really are more
guilty than the thieves themselves, who
often are mere boys. and II frequently
happens that the actual thief receives
from $40 to $50 for a stolen film.
whereas the receiver who exports the
film gets for it from $500 to $1,000.
The State laws are inadequate to punish
such receivers
Many film thefts. perhaps the major
ity of them, may be traced to inside
eann
boy. shipping clerk or other employees
side, who duplicates II and then is in
position to flood the world with the
film. The committee of the national
association has checked up on many
persons employed in the exchanges and
those with bad records have been dis
charged.
One film theft plot that would have
resulted in loss of at least 100000
to the companies involved was disclosed
a few weeks ago by w. G. Hawkins and
John S. Mcleod, agents of the MIN
theft committee. The film was to have
been shipped to Japan. Mexico and
south America-all fruitful fields for
stolen films-thus spelling the market
for the rightful owners OF the pictures.
The alleged plot was made public
after the arrest in Portland. Me-. OF
Leon German, a distributors agent, with
headquarters in that city, who Is charged
with attempting to steal 1000 reels or
motion picture film. Most or the film
was the property OF the Metro Pictures
Corporation. Word of Germans sus-
picious activities had reached Hawkins.
who went to Portland to investigate.
Hawkins charges that German con-
Quoted him to a local exchange and Of
rm.~1 - all hin, t,a0rc than G00 reals
of Aim at from SO TO SIS a reel. Cor
man. according to Hawkins. then ar
ranged TO take him to the Strand The
ater In Portland, where. he said. large
number of films were stored ready for
inspection. Two deputy sheriffs were
brought into the case. and while Cor
man was showing Hawkins the films the
,heater was ralded and 252 films were
recovered.
Accident Is Aid to Plot.
German. 1t is alleged. took advantage
OF the crashing of a truck loaded with
films through a bridge at Belfast, Me.
German is said to have asserted that
many of the films which actually were
received at the exchange by express had
been destroyed by water when the truck
went through the bridge.
stolen copies OF the Mary Pickford
film "Suds" and the Charlie Chaplin
film "The Kid" were recovered recently
in San Francisco, where they were about
10 be forwarded TO japan. In connec-
tion with this recovery Gustave II.
Lanzke was arrested in front of T29
Seventh avenue. this city, and indicted
on the charge of receiving and disposing
of the two stolen Aims. The prints. IL is
alleged, were sold by Lanzke to the
Tashio Film Company, 165 Broadway,
which bought them in good faith and
sent them to its export agents in San
Francisco.
South America stlll is flooded with
stolen films. according to agents of the
committee. The bona fide American ex-
changes are opening offices in Mexico
and japan rapidly, however. so that II Is
becoming easier to check up on stolen
films offered for exhibition in those
countries.