An Act To Prevent Camcorder Piracy
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0834
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: GERZOFSKY, DAVIS, ASH, BLANCHETTE, BLISS, BRYANT, HANLEY, PELLETIER-SIMPSON, PLUMMER, RINES
Amends: 17 MRSA §3521, 17-A MRSA §352, 17-A MRSA §353

Legislative Document 
No. 834 
H.P.593 
House of Representatives, February 16,2005 
An Act To Prevent Camcorder Piracy 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative GERZOFSKY of Brunswick. 
11/~ 
m.1/foc~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Senator DAVIS of Piscataquis and 
. 
Representatives: ASH of Belfast, BLANCHETTE of Bangor, BLISS of South Portland, 
BRYANT of Windham, HANLEY of Gardiner, PELLETIER-SIMPSON of Auburn, 
PLUMMER of Windham, RINES of Wiscasset. 
Primed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17 MRSA c. 114, as amended, is further amended by 
repealing the chapter headnote and enacting the following in its 
place: 
CHAPTER 114 
DETENTION OF CERTAIN PERSONS 
SUSPECTED OF STEALING 
Sec. 2. 17 MRSA §3521, as amended by PL 1989, c. 122, §l, is 
further amended to read: 
§3521. Detention of certain persons suspected of stealing 
A 
store 
or 
motion 
picture 
theater 
owner, 
manager 
or 
supervisor, or that person's designee, may detain on the premises 
in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable period of time Be~-te 
eHeeee-±t6-he~~ any person as to whom there is probable cause to 
believe is unlawfully concealing merchandise or concealing part 
of or operating an audiovisual or audio recording function of any 
device in the motion picture theater while a motion picture is 
being exhibited, 
without 
the written consent 
of 
the 
motion 
picture theater owner. The purposes of detention sba±l-ae are: ±9 
to require the person being detained to provide identification; 
to verify the identification; to inform a law enforcement officer 
of the detention and to surrender that person to the officer; to 
recover stolen merchandise or recordings and related eguipment; 
and 
when 
the detained person is 
a 
minor, 
to 
inform 
a 
law 
enforcement officer or the parents or guardian of the minor of 
the 
detention 
and to 
surrender the 
minor 
to 
the person 
so 
informed. 
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §352, sub-§5, ,D, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
389, §2, is further amended to read: 
D. 
If 
the 
value 
of 
property 
or 
services 
cannot 
be 
ascertained 
beyond 
a 
reasonable 
doubt 
pursuant 
to 
the 
standards set forth in paragraphs A to C, the trier of fact 
may find the value to be not less than a certain amount, and 
if no such minimum value can be thus ascertained, the value 
is deemed to be an amount less than $500. 
Notwithstanding 
this provision, for the purposes of this chapter, the value 
of any audio or visual recording of all or any part of a 
motion picture that is obtained through the use of any type 
of recording device in a motion picture theater while a 
motion picture is 
being exhibited, 
without 
the written 
consent of the motion picture theater owner, is deemed to be 
no less than $5,000. 
Page l-LR1917{1} 
Pt. 
Sec. 4. 17-A MRSA §353. sub-§l. as amended by PL 2001, c. 667, 
D, §3 and affected by §36, is further amended to read: 
1. 
A person is guilty of theft if: 
A. 
The person obtains or exercises unauthorized control 
over the property of another with intent to deprive the 
other person of the property. 
Violation of this paragraph 
is a Class E crime; e~ 
B. 
The person violates paragraph A and: 
(1) 
The value of the property is more than $10,000. 
Violation of this subparagraph is a Class B crime; 
(2) 
The property stolen is a firearm or an explosive 
device. 
Violation of this subparagraph is a Class B 
crime; 
(3) 
The person is armed with a dangerous weapon at the 
time of the offense. 
Violation of this subparagraph is 
a Class B crime; 
(4) 
The value of the property is more than $1,000 but 
not more than $10,000. 
Violation of this subparagraph 
is a Class C crime; 
(5) 
The value of the property is more than $500 but 
not more than $1, 000. 
Violation of this subparagraph 
is a Class D crime; or 
(6) 
The person has 2 prior Maine convictions for any 
combination of the following: 
theft; any violation of 
section 401 in which the crime intended to be committed 
inside the structure is theft; any violation of section 
in which the crime intended to be committed inside 
the motor vehicle is theft: any violation of section 
651; 
any violation of section 702, 
or 708; 
or 
attempts thereat. 
Section 9-A governs the use of prior 
convictions when determining a sentence. 
Violation of 
this subparagraph is a Class C crimeT ~ 
C. 
The person knowingly operates an audiovisual or audio 
recording function of any device in a motion picture theater 
while 
a 
motion picture is being exhibited, 
without the 
written 
consent 
of 
the 
motion 
picture 
theater 
owner. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
makes 
camcorder 
piracy 
and 
receiving 
stolen 
property obtained through camcorder piracy a Class C crime unless 
a 
higher 
value 
is 
determined. 
The 
bill 
also 
extends 
the 
protection 
afforded 
a 
store 
owner 
when 
detaining 
a 
person 
suspected of shoplifting to a theater owner when detaining a 
person suspected of illegally recording motion pictures.