CINEMAS have long prohibited viewers from recording films, as it is considered a form of digital piracy.
While it has become common for some movie-goers to record brief snippets of films to post on social media, under Malaysian law, this act is illegal under Section 43A of the Copyright Act 1987.
According to the act, those attempting to record a clip of a movie in a cinema could be slapped with a fine between RM5,000 to RM50,000 or a one-year prison sentence, or both if found guilty.
Recently, a movie-goer faced backlash after being caught attempting to film a post-credit scene from the latest Marvel action film, Fantastic Four: First Steps.
In a post on Threads, the man claimed that a staff member allegedly caught him in the act and told him to delete the footage.
“He looked at my phone and saw there was nothing recorded, but didn’t even apologise — instead, he still looked annoyed and said, ‘Next time if I catch you recording, you’d better watch yourself’,” he wrote.
The post gained traction online and even caught the attention of the cinema company, which responded with the comment: “Record, record, record — what’s the point?”
Netizens largely sided against the man, criticising him in the comments for complaining about a cinema staff member simply doing his job by preventing illegal recording.
“According to copyright laws in all countries, even end credits, post-credit scenes, and similar content are protected by copyright,” one user pointed out.
“You’re already lucky the cinema company didn’t call the police, and yet you have the audacity to post this,” another added.
