This section makes unauthorized recording or trafficking in recorded live performances an offense and sets penalties based on the number of recordings involved.
Sec. 641.052. UNAUTHORIZED RECORDING OF LIVE PERFORMANCE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person, with the knowledge that a live performance has been recorded or fixed without the consent of the owner: (1) for commercial advantage or private financial gain, advertises, offers for sale, sells, rents, or transports, causes the sale, resale, rental, or transportation of, or possesses for one or more of these purposes a recording containing sounds of the live performance; or (2) with the intent to sell for commercial advantage or private financial gain, records or fixes the live performance, or causes the live performance to be recorded or fixed on a recording. (b) An offense under this section is punishable by: (1) imprisonment for a term of not more than five years, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or both, if: (A) the offense involves at least 1,000 unauthorized recordings embodying sound or at least 65 unauthorized audiovisual recordings during a 180-day period; or (B) the defendant has been previously convicted under this section; (2) imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or both, if the offense involves more than 100 but fewer than 1,000 unauthorized recordings embodying sound or more than seven but fewer than 65 unauthorized audiovisual recordings during a 180-day period; or (3) confinement in the county jail for a term of not more than one year, a fine not to exceed $25,000, or both, if the offense is not otherwise punishable under Subdivision (1) or (2). (c) In the absence of a written agreement or law to the contrary, the performer or performers of a live performance are presumed to own the rights to record or fix those sounds. (d) For purposes of this section, a person authorized to maintain custody and control over business records that reflect whether the owner of a live performance consented to having the live performance recorded or fixed is a proper witness in a proceeding regarding the issue of consent. A witness called under this subsection is subject to the rules of evidence relating to the competency of a witness to testify and the relevance and admissibility of the testimony offered. Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 885 (H.B. 2278), Sec. 2.01, eff. April 1, 2009.