H. B. 2129
(By Delegates Amores, Craig, Pethtel, Armstead)
[Introduced on February 9, 2005; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-3-58, relating to
the unlawful use of a recording device in a motion picture
theater; defining certain terms; providing that a person who
knowingly operates the audiovisual recording function of any
device in a motion picture theater with the intent of
recording a motion picture under certain circumstances commits
a misdemeanor offense; providing criminal penalties; providing
for the imposition of criminal fines; requiring theater owners
to display certain signs under specified conditions;
specifying that failure to display the signs does not create
liability for the theater owners; authorizing the theater
owner to detain a person in violation of the act; providing
immunity to the theater owner for detaining a person in
violation of the act while awaiting the arrival of a law enforcement officer; providing an exception to the immunity;
and providing that an employee or agent of certain law
enforcement, protective services, or investigative agencies
may operate an audiovisual recording device as part of a
lawfully authorized activity.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931 , as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-3-58, to read as
follows:
§61-3-58. Unlawful use of a recording device in a motion picture
theater.
(a) For the purposes of this section, the words or terms
defined in this subsection and any variation of those words or
terms required by the context, have the meanings ascribed to them
in this subsection. These definitions are applicable unless a
different meaning clearly appears from the context.
(1) "Audiovisual recording function" means the capability of
a camera, an audio or video recorder, or any other device to
record, transfer sounds or images, or transmit a motion picture or
any part thereof by means of any technology now known or hereafter
developed.
(2) "Media owner of the motion picture" means the person
vested with the rights to and ownership of the original fixation of
sounds, images or any audio-visual combination embodied in the master film or other device used for transferring sounds or images
on discs, tapes, films, video tapes or video cassettes or other
similar articles upon which sounds, images or any audio-visual
combination are recorded.
(3) "Motion picture theater" means a movie theater, screening
room, or other venue when used primarily for the exhibition of a
motion picture.
(4) "Theater owner" means the owner, operator, or lessee of
a motion picture theater and includes an employee or agent of the
theater owner.
(b) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly operate an
audiovisual recording function of a device in a motion picture
theater, in which a motion picture is being exhibited, with the
intent to record a motion picture, if the person knows or should
have known that he or she was recording the motion picture without
the consent of the media owner of the motion picture. A person who
violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, the person shall be fined not less than one
hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, for each
offense.
(c) A theater owner exhibiting motion pictures in a motion
picture theater must display a sign giving notice that recording a
motion picture without the consent of the media owner of the motion
picture is a criminal violation. The sign must be displayed in a manner that is clearly legible and conspicuous from the entrance of
the motion picture theater. This section does not create any
liability for a theater owner failing to display a sign required
under this subsection.
(d) A theater owner may detain, in a reasonable manner and
for a reasonable period, any person whom the owner has probable
cause to believe has violated or is violating this section. A law
enforcement officer shall be called to the scene immediately after
the person is detained. The theater owner may not be held liable in
any civil or criminal action arising out of measures taken in the
course of detaining the person while awaiting the arrival of a law
enforcement officer, unless the plaintiff can show by clear and
convincing evidence that the measures were manifestly unreasonable
or the period of detention was unreasonably long.
(e) This section does not prevent an employee or agent of an
investigative agency, law enforcement agency, protective services
agency, or intelligence-gathering agency 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.
(f) This section does not prevent the prosecution of an
offense under any other provision of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the misdemeanor
offense of unlawfully using a recording device to record a motion
picture in a motion picture theater.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.