A. It is unlawful for any person to:

(1) knowingly transfer for sale or cause to be transferred any recording with intent to sell it or cause it to be sold or use it or cause it to be used for commercial advantage or private financial gain without the consent of the owner;

(2) transport within this state for commercial advantage or private financial gain a recording with the knowledge that the sounds have been transferred without the consent of the owner; or

(3) advertise or offer for sale, sell, rent or cause the sale, resale or rental of or possess for one or more of these purposes any recording that the person knows has been transferred without the consent of the owner.

B. Any person violating the provisions of Subsection A of this section:

(1) when the offense involves seven or more unauthorized recordings embodying sound or seven or more audiovisual recordings, at any one time, is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978; and

(2) when the offense involves fewer than seven unauthorized recordings embodying sound or fewer than seven audiovisual recordings, at any one time, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.

History: Laws 1991, ch. 112, §3; 2005, ch. 248, § 1.

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, changed the threshold number of recordings embodying sound from one hundred to seven, deleted the former qualification that the recordings occur during a one-hundred-eighty-day period, and added the qualification that the recordings may occur at any one time in Subsection B(1); and changed the number of recordings embodying sound from fewer than one hundred to fewer than seven, deleted the former qualification that the recordings occur during a one-hundred-eighty-day period and adds the qualification that the recordings may occur at any one time in Subsection B(2).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — Propriety of attorney's surreptitious sound recording of statements by others who are or may become involved in litigation, 32 A.L.R.5th 715.