New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo is backing a law that will make recording a movie a misdemeanor for first-time offenders. Doing so could get you up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Doing it again could turn it into a felony, with even higher penalties. Cuomo noted 140,000 jobs are lost because of piracy annually and as stated many times before by the MPAA, it cost the film industry over $6 billion in 2005.

If you get caught recording a movie now, it’s equal to a misdemeanor, like getting a parking ticket. But this new bill is not here to stop the average kid from recording a movie. “This is modern-day organized crime,” Cuomo said. “The wide distribution of pirated films originating from New York costs our state vital economic resources, including thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue.“

Hollywood may have had a record in their home country with $9.6 billion during last year, but Germany is struggling and saw a 5.7% drop in ticket sales in 2007. Cinemaxx, one of the leading chains in Germany, saw a 34% decrease in profits compared to 2006.

“The film industry, including Cinemaxx, cannot be satisfied with the development of the market in 2007. Despite a high number of high-profile films, the number of admissions remained below expectations,” the company said in a statement.

It’s true, last year had some big titles and they paid off in the US. A factor in all this may be the delayed release dates in Europe. While the Hollywood studios are doing more and more simultaneous releases, some movies are still coming out when the DVD hits the US shelves. That’s when the German audience can chose between a click on the internet or a ride to the theater.

In cooperation with some partners in China, Hollywood studios are placing one whole billboard for two weeks to stop piracy. The board shows Jackie Chan with the text: “Protect the movies, say NO to piracy.” The billboard will be placed in one of the busiest districts of Chaoyang, so 20 million people will see the message.

20 million will see the message, in a country with over 1.3 billion people. Of the 20 million, will anybody care with a text like “say NO to piracy?” Did they even check if ‘no’ doesn’t mean ‘yes’ in Chinese?