N.Y.’s Cuomo hits film piracy

New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced the latest effort to stiffen New York’s anti-film-piracy laws.

In a news conference attended by actress Tina Fey, NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker and Dan Glickman, chief executive of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, Cuomo said 50% of all illegally recorded movies are pirated in New York, costing the state millions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

Yet the pirates get off lightly, Cuomo said, with a small fine and no criminal prosecution.

“We’re all paying a price for the leniency given to this type of organized crime,” Cuomo said.

The proposed Piracy Protection Act would slap first-time offenders with fines of as much as $1,000 and up to a year in jail. Repeat offenses would be treated as felonies.

Similar legislation has stalled in the state Assembly in recent years, where legislators have been reluctant to add another prison offense to the lawbooks, state Sen. Frank Padavan said. He said he hoped that Cuomo’s support would help the bill move to passage this year.

Most pirated movies are filmed in theaters by people wielding mini-video cameras, Cuomo said. Despite the often poor quality, there is a ready market for the DVDs on the street at about $5 a disc.

Fey, the writer, executive producer and star of the NBC comedy “30 Rock,” offered a tip for consumers: “Remember, when you buy a DVD, you should not be able to see the heads of people watching it in a movie theater at the bottom of the screen.”

thomas.mulligan

@latimes.com