Public Showing of Films
As student organizations
move forward with programming initiatives, we are compelled to remind campus
members about the legal and acceptable uses of Video Tape/DVD and showing
movies for the public. Video Tapes and DVDs that are
available for purchase, rented from many commercial establishments, or
checked out of the library are for home viewing purposes only.
This means they can only be viewed in your private living spaces.
For campus purposes, that means your residence hall room/suite. (For
home purposes, it means anywhere in your private residence).
The same rules apply for movies/television shows that are video taped
at home on VCR’s.Therefore anytime a group
shows a movie in any context, the group must purchase the
public viewing
rights (copyright) for that particular showing.
Copyright purchase for film currently runs between $100-$600 per showing for
popular titles from major movie distributors.
Independent films could cost less but must be negotiated with the holder of
the copyright for those particular films. To pursue film rights, please
contact the office of
Student Activities
& Leadership Development.
Many of you may know that
there is an exception to the public performance fees for college and
universities. That exception is only in the case of
face-to-face classroom instruction by a faculty member.
The faculty member may show the film/movie outside the normal class
period (at night for example), however, it is only for those students who
are registered for the class. The movie must also be
shown in spaces that are designated for instruction; therefore library
screening rooms, residence hall or student union lounges, cafeterias do not
qualify. A faculty member cannot show it for his/her
class and then open it up to the rest of the campus. In
order to invite others, the public viewing rights must be purchased.
Acceptable attendance for films in which the copyright is not
purchased only include students registered for the class, the instructor and
guest lecturer(s). Purchasing public viewing
rights does not depend on variables such as audience size or charging of
admission. Regardless if it is 3 people versus 300
people, size is not considered in determining if public viewing rights need
to be purchased. (Size may, however, influence the
amount of the public performance fee). Likewise you
still have to purchase the copyrights even if you are offering the
movie/film to the audience for free.
We know that showing a
film is a fun and easy event to organize. Nevertheless,
you must always keep in the forefront that just because you purchased the
film, rented or checked it out, you cannot turn that Video Tape/DVD into a
program. Public performance rights must be purchased and
secured before advertising any event related to movie/film viewing.
Failure to adhere to these guidelines (even if done so innocently and
inadvertently) can result in fines from $750 to $30,000 per showing.
If admission is charged to the event and the organization/person
receives some commercial or personal financial gain, fines can range upward
to $150,000 plus a year in jail.If you have further
questions regarding the viewing/showing of films on campus please contact
the office of
Student Activities & Leadership Development.
Information is adapted from the Office of Campus Programs and
Organizations at Albion College. |
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