Showing a film to a group of people legally?

[Mark McLaughlin]

And oh yeah Douglas. I’m not “newbie” please. ☹️

[Mark McLaughlin]

Someone is going to own the copyright and even a free (to an audience) showing still needs permission and some sort of licence, according to the warnings I've read in the past on prints, catalouges and more recent media. Outside of close friends and family, the people watching it are considered 'public'.
I show short films once every year at a local rail society. It's done behind closed doors to a membership in a meeting hall, and the review of the evening for the monthly news letter is written in a vauge manner so as not to point to any obvious titles or sequences. Probably what I do is illegal, but its not advertised and the public can't just walk in.
There may well be some odd films in existence, out of copyright or designed specifically for the use you intend but I'm assuming what you have to show does not fit that cirteria. Perhaps what you are doing may need to be behind closed doors and just for a few people.

Very silly of you to say this. Show your films to as many people you can. Spread the joy. Believe me from much experience nobody will care at all. I used to smoke pot in the 80s and 90s. It used to make me paranoid. Maybe Martin Davey is hitting the bong lately 😂

[Martin Davey]

So you think following rules is silly, 'NEWBIE' Mark???

Having worked all my life in the arts/ media I find that copyright is to be taken seriously.

[Rob Young]

Here in the UK it is fairly easy to buy a license to show films in public. Then you have to calculate royalties based on ticket sales. But if there are no sales then the license fee covers it. Last time I looked it wasn't exactly cheap, but it wasn't ridiculous either.

I'm sure there must be a similar process in the US if you want to protect yourself from any trouble.

Showing films in public - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Although, it could be argued that films are screened at film conventions and no one really bothers about such things...

[Mike Newell]

You going to go ahead Scott. We need the details for FBI and police etc for the raid. 😊

[David Baker]

Here's something I can add to this debacle , of my own experience concerning this subject -

From 1998 - 2003 I ran VHS tapes and DVD's of Sci-Fi and Horror movies every Friday night at the South Florida Science Museum in the 100 seat theater for free .

Nothing was ever advertised anywhere ; no admission was charged and you didn't need to buy a ticket to enter the museum just to see the movies .

Eventually word got out about what I was doing; it ended up on the internet . The next thing I know , the local newspaper , The Palm Beach Post , wanted to do a story on me and what the weekly event was so I was interviewed and the article was published . ( see photo below )

I was also interviewed for a free Monster magazine ( The Monster News ) about the Friday night double-features ( see pic below )

Now what happened NEXT was a TOTAL surprise .
One day when the mail was delivered to the Museum , I got a package from UNIVERSAL STUDIOS , Hollywood . Ca.
Low and behold , it was a VHS tape of current PREVIEWS of their upcoming films ! And they sent them to me every two weeks !
One day I received a package from TOHO Co. , Japan which was the yet - to - be -released GODZILLA 2000 VHS , in Japanese !
Then the ULTIMATE happened :
NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION STUDIOS wanted to use our Theater to present a NEW series to all the Cable companies in South Florida , trying to get them to carry or show it on their system .
It was the Premiere 3-hour episode of their NEW series - BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA .

We were all totally amazed that NOT ONE film studio threatened " copyright " infringement and they ( UNIVERSAL ) saw this as another outlet for their product .

So I really took a chance , it was supported by the community and major film companies , something I never thought would happen .

[Osi Osgood]

Now I understand your boldness with your releases, Dave! My personal opinion is if the film I bought, was in the public domain when I bought it, I can do what I want with it. That may not be good law, but it works for me.

[Rob Young]

"You going to go ahead Scott. We need the details for FBI and police etc for the raid. 😊"

Sarcasm. Not really useful or helpful. Just boring non-comital self indulgence.

[Brian Fretwell]

Although, it could be argued that films are screened at film conventions and no one really bothers about such things...

I suppose they could say that was advertising as many were on sale at the conventions (when they big boys were still releasing). I lost count of the number of Star Wars extracts that were being shown at a photo exhibition (Photoworld?) at Olympia one year. The equipment sellers too using them to show off their new projectors.

[Douglas Meltzer]

A reminder here, for everyone at all posting levels: Please don't insult other members.

Aside from restaurants showing films without a license, does anyone have any first hand stories of getting into trouble for a screening?

[David Baker]

Of all you members who chimed in on this thread , why did you not mention that films have been shown for YEARS in the UK at the London and Blackpool conventions and others. Plus of course Cinevent , Cinesea , Monster Bash and many others.

Actually , Doug I've NEVER heard where someone got in trouble for showing a film publicly .

[Steve Klare]

Very often rules and laws are there for the moment they are needed the most: a 55MPH speed limit isn't there so they will bust everybody that does 56, it's for the guy that blazes past the cop doing 79 and is in need of intervention before somebody gets killed.

I've been in a number of places that have "No Alcoholic Beverage" policies. This doesn't mean if you spoit a cold one out on your balcony and have a nice quiet beer after dinner you will be immediately tackled and cuffed, but it does mean when guests gripe about a loud, drunken party at 2AM that the management has the basis to step in and solve the problem.

Technically, if you show your Derann Snow White to a little kid's birthday party in a pavillion at a park, you have crossed the line, but what they will be really interested in is the guy establishing a bootleg theater or selling mass production pirated media or anything else significantly siphoning other people's revenue away. It's not for kid's birthday parties or Xeroxing muffin recipes or whistling a tune you didn't write. It's just that the threshold of the law's language is set low so when they enforce it, it's obvious the offense was well over the line.

If every law was perfectly enforced, everybody, everywhere would have a criminal record sooner or later.

[Osi Osgood]

Good post, Steve with some great common sense logic. Appreciated.

[Brian Fretwell]

Of all you members who chimed in on this thread , why did you not mention that films have been shown for YEARS in the UK at the London and Blackpool conventions and others. Plus of course Cinevent , Cinesea , Monster Bash and many others.

I did mention conventions two posts above yours, but didn't name them.

[Ed Gordon]

...Aside from restaurants showing films without a license, does anyone have any first hand stories of getting into trouble for a screening?

Doug, a quick search found this one:

Case law strongly suggests that a community association’s showing of a copyrighted movie, even if it is shown at the community clubhouse to members and their families only, would constitute a public showing that requires a public performance license under the Federal Copyright Act. For example, in the case Fermata International Melodies, Inc. v. Champions Golf Club, Inc., 712 F. Supp 1257 (1989), a federal court in Texas held that a private golf club’s performance of a copyrighted work within the private golf club property to 21 golf club members and guests constituted a “public performance” under the Federal Copyright Act.

If your association violates federal copyright law by showing a copyrighted work without the proper license, then it can be subject to both civil and criminal penalties, including fines and incarceration, depending on the extent of the infringement. In fact, even unintentional violators of the Copyright Act face federal statutory damages of not less than $750 and up to $30,000 per infringement, plus attorneys’ fees and costs.

Luckily, avoiding potential liability under the Federal Copyright Act does not mean that you have to give up your community association movie night. You can easily obtain a public performance license by ordering the movies that you show through a licensing firm. These firms will ship the movie to you, similar to Netflix. While ordering through these firms will be more expensive than Redbox or Netflix, by ordering through these companies you can obtain the required public performance license for the movie so as to be in compliance with federal copyright law. Some examples of companies that offer public performance licenses are Swank Motion Pictures, www.swank.com, and Criterion Pictures, www.criterionpicusa.com.