California Law Allows Warrantless Searches of CD Plants

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla that would allow police to search disk manufacturing plants without a warrant, and seize equipment used to manufacture illegal copies.  Excerpt from S.B. 550: “Officers performing inspections may do so without providing prior notice or obtaining a warrant, and shall have the authority to do all of the following… (4) Inspect, remove, and detain for the purpose of examination for as long as reasonably necessary any optical disc, production part, or record, book, or document maintained under Section 21807. (5) Seize any optical disc or production part manufactured in violation of this chapter.”

The law also increases fines for manufacturers who produce illegal copies for “commercial purposes” – defined as “at least 10 of the same or different optical discs in a 180-day period by storing information on the disc for the purposes of resale by that person or others.”  Producers of illegal copies can be imprisoned for up to a year and fined up to $10,000.

The bill was supported by the Recording Industry Association of America.  It goes into effect in January.

In a statement, Sen. Padilla said: “This new law is about protecting California jobs.  Those who illegally replicate CDs and DVDs undermine our economy and California’s role as a global leader in music and film.  Illegal replication of CDs and DVDs steals revenue from everyone in the entertainment industry, from blue collar workers to those who walk the red carpet.”

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  • Mike Palmedo

    Mike Palmedo is the admin for infojustice.org, and he manages interdisciplinary research on copyright exceptions at American University College of Law's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property. He has Masters degrees Economics and in International Affairs, and is an economics PhD candidate.

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