NY Penal Law § 275.40: Failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the first degree

Included in New York's criminal code are laws designed to protect the intangible property of others. Some of these laws are aimed at reducing the amount of piracy that occurs in New York. Piracy is the recording or copying of a sound or visual performance without the permission of the owner, and using such recording for commercial purposes. Among those laws are offenses related to failing to include on the label of a recording the name of the artist or performer and the name of the manufacturer of the recording. A "recording" is defined as a record, disc, tape, audio or video cassette, wire, film, hard drive, flash drive, memory card, or other storage device on which sounds and images can be recorded. Under New York Penal Law § 275.40 you have committed the failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the first degree if you knowingly offer for sale or rental a recording where the box or jacket does not clearly disclose the name of the manufacturer or the performer, and:

1. You have been convicted of failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the first or second degree within the past five years; or
2. The commission of the crime involves at least 100 unauthorized sound recordings or at least 100 unauthorized audiovisual recordings.

1. Manufacture or sale of an unauthorized recording of a performance in the second degree: New York Penal Law § 275.15
2. Advertisement or sale of unauthorized recordings in the second degree: New York Penal Law § 275.25
3. Failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the second degree: New York Penal Law § 275.35

In order to successfully prosecute you for a charge of failure to disclose the origin of a recording, the prosecutor must prove that you did so knowingly. If the required information was omitted by mistake, or if you did not realize that the required information was omitted then you may have a valid defense to the charge.

As a Class E felony if you are convicted of failure to disclose origin of a recording in the first degree, your sentence may include a prison term of up to 4 years, a probation term of 5 years, and a fine.

A person is guilty of failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the first degree when such person commits the crime of failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the second degree as defined in § 275.35 of this article and either: 1. such person has been convicted of failure to disclose the origin of a recording in the first or second degree within the past five years; or 2. commission of the crime involves at least one hundred unauthorized sound recordings or at least one hundred unauthorized audiovisual recordings.

If you or a loved one has been charged with failure to disclose the original of a recording in the first degree it is important to have experienced representation. The staff at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC has years of experience successfully defending clients in New York criminal courts who have been charged with crimes related to piracy and making or selling illegal recordings. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We serve those accused of crimes in the following locations: