Legislative decree No. 1649: New tougher penalties for the unlawful reproduction of movies in theaters

Government advances in the effective protection of the rights of the author.

With the purpose of improving the criminal law existing and deal more effectively with offences related to the unauthorized copying of cinematographic works in the cinema, the Executive branch issued the Legislative Decree No. 1649 that modifies the article 217 of the Criminal Codein order to strengthen the legal framework to protect the rights of the author.

The objective is to complement and enhance the current provisions to more effectively meet the offences relating to the unauthorised reproduction of movies in cinemas. It also seeks to optimize the regulatory system, to provide the authorities with more powerful tools to punish violations of the rights of the copyright and ensure a more robust protection to the creators and owners of these rights.

With the change to the Criminal Code, states that those who reproduce, distribute, communicate or disseminate a work without the prior written permission of the author or holder of the rights, shall be punished by a custodial sentence of not less than two nor more than six years, in addition to a fine of thirty to ninety days. The modification covers a number of illegal actions, including modification, distribution and public reproduction of a work, performance, artistic, sound recording, broadcast or audiovisual recording.

In addition, stiffen the penalties for those who played all or part of an movie in cinemas without the proper authorization. In these cases, the penalty shall be not less than four years nor more than eight years in prison and a fine of sixty to one hundred and twenty days. This sanction is applied when the unauthorized distribution is carried out by way of sale, rental, lease or lending to the public, and it exceeds a threshold of two Units, Tax, Taxation, either in a single act or several acts in instalments.

It is hoped, in this way, to advance in the effective protection of the rights of author, aligning the penalties with the gravity of the violations and improving the capacity of the judicial system to address crimes related to the unauthorized reproduction of works in the cinema.

Lima, September 13, 2024