Hollywood's Next Anti-Piracy Crusade

Forever on the prowl for the next big thing in movie piracy, the motion picture industry is zeroing in on small and increasingly-powerful mobile-phone cameras that might be trained on theater screens. Picture and sound quality lag behind their camcorder big brothers, but the devices offer something a camcorder cannot: stealth.

The Warner Bros. Pictures invitation to screen the latest Harry Potter flick for reviewers underscored the motion picture industry's concern that the cell phone is the latest bootlegging tool.

Despite the industry's growing alarm, the poor quality of cell phone recordings make them unpopular among downloaders -- rating a distant fourth behind ripped DVDs, films recorded with professional-grade video cameras and movies pirated with handheld camcorders.

"That was the worst copy I have ever seen," one pirate wrote. "I hate you and wish death on you. Why not take a long walk off a short pier you complete smack tard? You are a pathetic excuse for a human being. I hope you suffer when it comes your time you vile piece of scum. Have a nice day."