| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to unauthorized copying of recordings; |
| 3 | amending s. 540.11, F.S.; requiring restitution by |
| 4 | persons who knowingly commit certain violations |
| 5 | relating to recordings for commercial advantage or |
| 6 | private financial gain; authorizing recovery by a |
| 7 | trade association representing the owner or lawful |
| 8 | producer of a recording; providing for calculation of |
| 9 | a restitution amount; amending s. 775.089, F.S.; |
| 10 | providing that a crime victim entitled to restitution |
| 11 | may include a trade association representing the owner |
| 12 | or lawful producer of a pirated recording in certain |
| 13 | circumstances; providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 540.11, Florida |
| 18 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 19 | 540.11 Unauthorized copying of phonograph records, disk, |
| 20 | wire, tape, film, or other article on which sounds are |
| 21 | recorded.- |
| 22 | (3)(a) It is unlawful: |
| 23 | 1. To sell or offer for sale or resale, advertise, cause |
| 24 | the sale or resale of, rent, transport or cause to be rented or |
| 25 | transported, or possess for any of these purposes any article |
| 26 | with the knowledge, or with reasonable grounds to know, that the |
| 27 | sounds thereon have been transferred without the consent of the |
| 28 | owner. |
| 29 | 2. To sell or offer for sale or resale, advertise, cause |
| 30 | the sale or resale of, rent, transport or cause to be rented or |
| 31 | transported, or possess for any of these purposes any article |
| 32 | embodying any performance, whether live before an audience or |
| 33 | transmitted by wire or through the air by radio or television, |
| 34 | recorded without the consent of the performer. |
| 35 | 3. Knowingly, for commercial advantage or private |
| 36 | financial gain to sell or resell, offer for sale or resale, |
| 37 | advertise, cause the sale or resale of, rent, transport or cause |
| 38 | to be rented or transported, or possess for such purposes, any |
| 39 | phonograph record, disk, wire, tape, film, or other article on |
| 40 | which sounds are recorded, unless the outside cover, box, or |
| 41 | jacket clearly and conspicuously discloses the actual name and |
| 42 | address of the manufacturer thereof, and the name of the actual |
| 43 | performer or group. |
| 44 | (b)1. A person who violates paragraph (a) commits a felony |
| 45 | of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, by a |
| 46 | fine of up to $250,000, or both if the offense involves at least |
| 47 | 1,000 unauthorized articles embodying sound or at least 65 |
| 48 | unauthorized audiovisual articles during any 180-day period or |
| 49 | is a second or subsequent conviction under either this |
| 50 | subparagraph or subparagraph 2. of this subsection. |
| 51 | 2. A person who violates paragraph (a) commits a felony of |
| 52 | the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, by a |
| 53 | fine of up to $150,000, or both if the offense involves more |
| 54 | than 100 but less than 1,000 unauthorized articles embodying |
| 55 | sound or more than 7 but less than 65 unauthorized audiovisual |
| 56 | articles during any 180-day period. |
| 57 | 3. A person who otherwise violates this subsection commits |
| 58 | a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. |
| 59 | 775.082, by a fine of up to $25,000, or both. |
| 60 | 4. A person who violates subparagraph (a)3. shall be |
| 61 | ordered to make restitution to any owner or lawful producer of a |
| 62 | master recording that has suffered injury resulting from the |
| 63 | crime, or to the trade association representing such owner or |
| 64 | lawful producer. The order of restitution shall be based on the |
| 65 | aggregate wholesale value of lawfully manufactured and |
| 66 | authorized recordings corresponding to the number of |
| 67 | nonconforming recordings involved in the offense unless a |
| 68 | greater value can be proven. The order of restitution shall also |
| 69 | include investigative costs relating to the offense. |
| 70 | Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section |
| 71 | 775.089, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 72 | 775.089 Restitution.- |
| 73 | (1) |
| 74 | (c) The term "victim" as used in this section and in any |
| 75 | provision of law relating to restitution means each person who |
| 76 | suffers property damage or loss, monetary expense, or physical |
| 77 | injury or death as a direct or indirect result of the |
| 78 | defendant's offense or criminal episode, and also includes the |
| 79 | victim's estate if the victim is deceased, and the victim's next |
| 80 | of kin if the victim is deceased as a result of the offense, and |
| 81 | the victim's trade association if the offense is a violation of |
| 82 | s. 540.11(3)(a)3. and the victim has granted the trade |
| 83 | association written authorization to represent the victim's |
| 84 | interests in criminal legal proceedings and to collect |
| 85 | restitution on the victim's behalf. |
| 86 | Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2012. |