BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 830| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 830 Author: Wright (D), et al Amended: 8/17/10 Vote: 21 PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/26/10 AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 8/23/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Recording crimes SOURCE : Author DIGEST : Assembly Amendments delete the previous language relating to the horse racing law. This bill now expands the definition of a "recording" for the purposes of prosecution for failing to disclose the origin of a recording when utilizing the recording for financial gain, as specified. Specifies that "recordings" shall include memory cards, flash drives, hard-drives, or data storage devices. ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that a person is guilty of failure to disclose the origin of a recording or audiovisual work if, for commercial advantage or private CONTINUED SB 830 Page 2 financial gain, he or she advertises, sells, rents, manufactures, or possesses for those purposes, a recording or audiovisual work that does not disclose the name of the manufacturer, author, artist, performer, or producer, as specified. Failure to disclose the origin of a recording or audiovisual work is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail, imprisonment in the state prison, or a fine, or by both imprisonment and fine, as specified, depending on the number of articles of audio recordings or audiovisual works involved, and whether the offense is a first offense, or 2nd subsequent offense. Existing law defines "recording" for the purpose of these provisions to mean any tangible medium upon which information or sounds are recorded or otherwise stored, including any phonograph record, disc, tape, audio cassette, wire, film, or other medium on which information or sounds are recorded or stored, but does not include sounds accompanying a motion picture or other visual work. Existing law defines "audiovisual works" as the physical embodiment of works that consist of related images that are intrinsically intended to be shown using machines or devices such as projectors, viewers, or electronic equipment, together with accompanying sounds, if any, regardless of the nature of the material objects such as films or tapes on which the works are embodied. This bill expands the definition of "recording" for the purposes of the above provisions to expressly include, but not be limited to, a memory card, flash drive, hard drive, or data storage device. This bill, for purposes of the definition of "audiovisual works," add discs, memory cards, flash drives, hard drives, or data storage device, or other devices to films and tapes as examples of material objects on which the works my be embodied. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill mandates a state-mandated local program. This bill incorporates changes to Section 653w of the Penal Code proposed by AB 819, contingent on the prior enactment of that bill. Estimated Economic Losses to the Greater Los Angeles Area : According to a February 2007 study published by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), criminal piracy costs businesses in California massive economic CONTINUED SB 830 Page 3 losses. The study concluded that global piracy disproportionately affects Los Angeles due to the number of entertainment firms located in southern California. LAEDC estimated that entertainment firms in Los Angeles alone lost an estimated $5.2 billion dollars in 2005. Those losses were from motion picture production ($2.7 billion), sound recording ($851 million), trademarked clothing ($617 million), and software publishing ($355 million). The study can be found at http://www.laedc.org/reports/consulting/2007_piracy-study.pd f. The Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) anti-piracy unit, in coordination with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), is aggressively targeting music piracy. In one instance, a private residence was searched and LAPD seized 22 CD-R burners; 2 computers; 4 DVD records; 6,812 alleged counterfeit compact discs; and 349 counterfeit DVDs. A 14-month in-vestigation by the Orange County District Attorney and the RIAA resulted in a two-year sentence for the defendant, from whom 8 CD-R burners and 17,982 completed unauthorized discs were seized. The Los Angeles High Tech Crimes Task Force raided a CD-pressing facility and seized 17,000 finished discs; 2 sets of molds; and 38 burners. These examples illustrate the widespread nature of this problem. According to RIAA, the trade group that represents the United States recording industry, today's music pirates operate on the Internet, in illegal CD factories, in distribution centers, and on the street. "Piracy" generally refers to the illegal duplication and distribution of sound recordings. There are four specific categories of music piracy: pirate recordings, counterfeit recordings, bootleg recordings, and online piracy. Though it would appear that record companies and artists are still making money, these impressions are mere fallacies. Each sale by a pirate represents a lost legitimate sale. Each year, the industry loses about $4.2 billion to piracy worldwide. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes CONTINUED SB 830 Page 4 SUPPORT : (Verified 8/24/10) Recording Industry Association of America ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, "SB 830 will clarify existing piracy laws by expanding the term 'recording' to include all newer forms of storage media. California has a serious problem with intellectual property piracy. Nearly one-half billion dollars in revenue were lost by the state and local governments due to counterfeited goods, including music and movies. The state's existing statute to protect against music piracy has not kept pace with latest downloading technologies such as memory cards, flash drives, and data storage devices. SB 830 is intended to plug this loophole in the law. SB 830 is supported by the Recording Industry Association of America. The bill has no opposition." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Furutani, Norby, Vacancy, Vacancy RJG:do 8/27/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED