(1) Whoever, without the consent of the owner or lessee of the motion picture exhibition facility and the licensor of the motion picture being exhibited, knowingly operates an audiovisual recording function of a device in a motion picture exhibition facility is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

Attorney's Note

Under the Washington Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
gross misdemeanorup to 364 daysup to $5,000
For details, see Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.20.021

Terms Used In Washington Code 19.235.010

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • person: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(2) The owner or lessee of a motion picture exhibition facility where a motion picture is being exhibited, or the authorized agent or employee of such owner or lessee, or the licensor of the motion picture being exhibited or his or her agent or employee, who alerts law enforcement authorities of an alleged violation of this section shall not be liable in any civil action arising out of measures taken by such owner, lessee, licensor, agent, or employee in the course of subsequently detaining a person that the owner, lessee, licensor, agent, or employee in good faith believed to have violated this section while awaiting the arrival of law enforcement authorities, unless the plaintiff can show by clear and convincing evidence that such measures were manifestly unreasonable or the period of detention was unreasonably long.
(3) This section does not prevent any lawfully authorized investigative, law enforcement protective, or intelligence gathering employee or agent, of the state or federal government, from operating any audiovisual recording device in any motion picture exhibition facility where a motion picture is being exhibited, as part of lawfully authorized investigative, protective, law enforcement, or intelligence gathering activities.
(4) For the purposes of this section:
(a) “Audiovisual recording function” means the capability of a device to record or transmit a motion picture or any part thereof by means of any technology now known or later developed.
(b) “Motion picture exhibition facility” means any theater, screening room, indoor or outdoor screening venue, auditorium, ballroom, or other premises where motion pictures are publicly exhibited, regardless of whether an admission fee is charged, but does not include a personal residence or retail establishment.