A Montreal man is the first in Canada to be jailed for recording movies and uploading them to the internet. Geremi (sounds like Jeremy) Adam uploaded to a site (or club or network) called "Maven" which distributed them for free (different sources claim Maven was either his user-id, or the site, or the name of "a network"). He was reputed to have uploaded many movies which he filmed in local Montreal movie theaters. He was charged in 2006 for recording two new releases in a downtown film house, How to Eat Fried Worms and Invincible. At the time there were no suitable laws on the books and he got off. In 2008 new laws were introduced. He was arrested again in 2008 (at the cinema Guzzo in Laval) filming a screening of Street King. The guy is clearly a bit stubborn.
He was sentenced to 2 and a half months, which taking into account time served awaiting trial (which counts extra), means he must serve seven days. The judge, Suzanne Coupal of Quebec, also sentenced him to 100 hours of community service.
The government people say that Montreal is the "hub of camcording in the world," which seems patently ridiculous given how easily one can buy bootleg DVD's in most cities outside North America. The FBI also claimed he was "one of the biggest film pirates in North America"
A link to a newspaper article is here.
