LEWISTON – A global film industry fight to prevent people from sneaking cameras into the movies – then selling their copies – is coming to Lewiston-Auburn.

Warnings have been posted in area cinemas, condemning movie piracy and cautioning people against downloading illicit copies that are popping up on the Internet.

At the Flagship Cinemas in Lewiston, the warnings are stuck to the front doors and the wall next to the ticket desk.

“No cameras of any kind allowed in the theater,” reads one sign. People are told that bags may be searched for recording devices.

At the Northeast Cinemas in Auburn, a similar warning is stuck to the box office booth.

“That makes me feel good,” said Bill Shannon, deputy director of the Motion Picture Association of America. “Piracy starts right at the movies.”

The problem is that one kid with a smuggled camera can lead to millions in lost revenue, said Matthew Grossman, the MPAA’s director of digital strategy and corporate communications.

Movies that have just been released, such as “Spider-Man 2,” have been a prime target.

A kid who makes a pirate copy on a camcorder can take it home, tweak it with his personal computer and share it with someone anywhere.

“You just plug it into your computer and all of a sudden, it’s there,” Grossman said. It has spawned a huge business.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that pirated DVD copies of “Spider-Man 2” were being sold on the streets of London just 10 days after premiering in the United States.

Police in some cities have found operations where the boxes for illegally made DVDs were being made while the pirate was still in a theater.

“It’s on the street the same day the copy is made,” Grossman said.

The MPAA, which represents most of the Hollywood studios, has traced mass produced copies found in places such as Thailand and China back to the United States and neighborhood theaters.

“A whole chain of events begins when somebody makes a copy,” Grossman said.

Last year, someone was caught at the Flagship Cinemas with a hidden camera, manager Doris Davis said.

A staff person took the young man’s tape and sent him away, Davis said. Next time, it may change.

Currently, 16 states have laws specifically banning the use of cameras in movie theaters. Maine is not one of them.

However, the MPAA is offering a $500 reward for any theater staffer who catches someone with a camera.

The group has also set up a toll-free number for people to call and report piracy, 1-800-NO-COPYS.

The Hollywood group is working with the National Association of Theater Owners to push legislation through Congress that explicitly makes such recording and distribution a federal crime.

The movie industry says the business is huge already.

However, it may get worse as people with home computers begin downloading the copies, Grossman said.

A recent independent poll found that 17 percent of people who download illegally copied movies go to the theater less, Grossman said. Of the same group, 26 percent said they are buying fewer DVDs.