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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
COMMITTEE REPORT
March 2, 2005
S. 20
S. Printed 3/2/05--S.
Read the first time January 11, 2005.
To whom was referred a Bill (S. 20) to amend Article 9, Chapter 11, Title 16, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Section 16-11-911, relating to the recording of motion pictures, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, page 1, after line 41, by adding an appropriately numbered subsection to read:
/ ( ) 'Article' means the tangible medium upon which sounds or images are recorded or otherwise stored and includes any original phonograph record, disc, tape, audio or video cassette, wire, film, or other medium now known or later developed on which sounds or images are or can be recorded or otherwise stored, or any copy or reproduction which duplicates, in whole or in part, the original. /
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, page 2, by striking lines 5-12 and inserting:
/ (C) In any action brought by reason of having been delayed by a theater employee or agent on or near the premises of a theater establishment for the purpose of investigation concerning the unlawful operation of an audiovisual recording device, it shall be a defense to such action if
(1) the person was delayed in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time to permit such investigation; and
(2) reasonable cause existed to believe that the person delayed had committed the crime of unlawful operation of a recording device. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
VINCENT A. SHEHEEN for Committee.
TO AMEND ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 11, TITLE 16, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-11-911, RELATING TO THE RECORDING OF MOTION PICTURES IN A MOTION PICTURE THEATER, SO AS TO MAKE UNLAWFUL THE RECORDING IN A MOTION PICTURE THEATER OF A MOTION PICTURE WITHOUT CONSENT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 16-11-920, RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR UNLAWFUL RECORDING, SO AS TO CREATE PENALTIES FOR SUCH ACTION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 9, Chapter 11, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 16-11-911. (A) As used in this section:
(1) 'Audiovisual recording device' means any device, camera, or audio or video recorder with the capability of recording, transferring, or transmitting sounds or images of a motion picture in part or in whole, including any device now existing or later developed.
(2) 'Person' means an individual, partnership, corporation, company, association, or other legal entity.
(3) 'Motion picture theater' means a movie theater, screening room, or other venue used primarily for the exhibition of a motion picture but does not include the lobby or other common areas, a personal residence, or retail establishment.
(4) 'Theater owner' means the owner, operator, or lessee of a motion picture theater and includes an employee or agent of the owner, operator, or lessee.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly and willfully operate an audiovisual recording device in a motion picture theater, with intent to record a motion picture, without written consent from the theater owner.
(C) A theater owner who has reasonable cause to suspect a person of recording a motion picture may detain the suspected person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable time to investigate such suspicion or to await the arrival of notified law enforcement. The theater owner is not civilly liable for unlawful detention, slander, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, false arrest, or assault and battery, if detention is conducted in a reasonable manner for a reasonable time based upon reasonable cause.
(D) This section does not prevent any lawfully authorized investigative agency, law enforcement agency, protective services agency, or intelligence-gathering agency of the local, state, or federal government from operating an audiovisual recording device in a motion picture theater where a motion picture is being exhibited as part of a lawfully authorized investigative, protective, law enforcement, or intelligence-gathering activity."
SECTION 2. Section 16-11-920 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-11-920. (A) A person who violates the provisions of Section 16-11-911 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction:
(1) for a first offense, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both;
(2) for a second offense, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both;
(3) for a third and each subsequent offense, must be fined not more than fifteen thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
(A)(B) A person who violates the provisions of Section 16-11-910 or 16-11-915 is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred-fifty thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, if the offense:
(1) involves at least one thousand unauthorized articles embodying sound or sixty-five unauthorized audio visual articles during any one hundred-eighty-day period; or
(2) is a second or subsequent conviction under Section 16-11-910 or 16-11-915.
(B)(C) A person who violates the provisions of Section 16-11-910 or 16-11-915 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred-fifty thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both, if the offense involved:
(1) more than one hundred but less than one thousand unauthorized articles embodying sound during any one hundred-eighty-day period; or
(2) more than ten but less than sixty-five unauthorized audiovisual articles during any one hundred-eighty-day period.
(C)(D) A person who violates the provisions of Section 16-11-910 or 16-11-915 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars for a first offense and not more than ten thousand dollars for a second or subsequent offense if the offense or both offenses involve not more than:
(1) twenty-five unauthorized articles embodying sound during any one hundred-eighty-day period; or
(2) ten unauthorized audiovisual articles during any one hundred-eighty-day period.
(D)(E) A person who violates any other provision of Section 16-11-910 or 16-11-915 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
(E)(F) If a person is convicted of a violation of Section 16-11-910, 16-11-911, or 16-11-915, the court shall order the forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all:
(1) infringing articles;
(2) implements, devices, and equipment used or intended to be used in the manufacture of the infringing articles.
These penalties are not exclusive but are in addition to other penalties provided by law."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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