Ottawa introduced a new legislation Friday banning camcording in theatres amid Hollywood concerns that piracy in Canada is greatly undermining its businesses.

Heritage Minister Beverley Oda revealed the government plan to amend the Criminal Code, introducing two new offences.

"The recording of a movie in a movie theatre without the consent of the theatre's manager" would carry a sentence of two years, while "the recording of a movie in a movie theatre without the consent of the theatre's manager for the purpose of selling, renting, or other commercial distribution of a copy of the recording" would lead to a penalty of up to five years.

Currently under Canada's Copyright Act, a person who commercially distributes a movie they filmed in a theatre can be prosecuted. But authorities have to show the recording is being made for commercial purpose, which is difficult to prove in court.

"This bill amends the Criminal Code to directly confront film piracy," said Oda.

Hollywood says it loses up to 6 billion U.S. dollars a year to piracy, with half of that coming from video recordings made in theatres. About 20 percent to 25 percent of unauthorized recordings of films distributed globally originate from Canada, according to industry estimates.

Source: Xinhua