BILL ANALYSIS
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 830
Author: Wright (D), et al
Amended: 8/17/10
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
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
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
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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
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
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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
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/24/10)
Recording Industry Association of America
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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 8/24/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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