Dark Knight Pirater Sentenced To Two Years In Jail

In the summer of 2008, Robert Henderson of Grandview, Missouri used a digital camcorder in a theater to record a video of The Dark Knight. His plan was to use that recording to sell DVDs, but he was apprehended as part of an MPAA investigation. We've now learned (via The Wrap) that Henderson was recently sentenced for illegally trafficking in counterfit DVDs [PDF]. His punishment? To serve two years in federal prison and to pay $24,738 in fines, followed by three years of probation. It's a stern reminder that those FBI warnings you see before EVERYTHING can actually have some real-world consequences:

The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act enacted in 2005 made camcording in a theater a federal felony (camcording in theaters is also prohibited by many state statutes) and established new penalties for pirating works that have not yet been released commercially. First-time violators can be sentenced to three and five years, respectively, for these crimes and fined up to $250,000.