A 16 year-old boy wasarrested in the early hours of yesterday morning at a theatre in Chatsworth,California, for attempting to camcord the first public showing of Spider-Man2. The Motion Picture Association OfAmerica (MPAA) proudly announced the arrest yesterday, even naming theprojectionist (Scott Bergin) who spotted the teen pirate.

Bergin was scanning theaudience with night vision goggles soon after the film began when he spottedthe boy and his camcorder. He notified the theatre manager who alerted securityofficers who escorted the subject and two friends out of the auditorium.Officers from LAPD were then called and the subject surrendered his camerawhich contained a recording of the film to the point where he was removed. Theboy was taken into custody and the case turned over to the Deputy City AttorneyChris Garcia.

The recording of a motionpicture in a theatre is a violation of federal copyright laws as well asCalifornia statute 653z which went into effect this past January.

The apprehension of thevideo pirate comes in the week that theatre employees have been incentivitisedwith rewards of up to $500 if they catch anyone recording films in theatres.

The Anti-CamcordingRewards Program was launched by the MPAA and the National Association ofTheatre Owners (NATO) to encourage theatre employees to crack down on thisleading source of motion picture piracy.

"We're veryfortunate that a vigilant projectionist was working that first screening of Spider-Man2. Hundreds of peoplehave put tens of thousands of hours into making a truly great picture, and thenotion of having it stolen and sent out for free around the world is just plainwrong", said Jeff Blake, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, ina statement. "All of us at Sony owe a big thanks to everyone working tostop the illegal distribution of our intellectual property."