Note: I know that the mods are very sensitive about copyright questions, and this is one. However, I believe it’s an area with a lot of confusion, and I am not in any way asking a question that is going to help folks break the law. So I hope it can remain open.
The question is this: under what circumstances may I legally show a copyrighted video (say, The Lion King) to a group? Note that in most of these cases, the chances of my getting busted are just about zero; I’m asking about the letter of the law, not the practicality.
May I show it to a slumber party that I invite people to via written invitation, and if so, may I mention the video on the invitation?
May I show it to my second-grade class at a public school?
2a) What about at a private school?
May I show it to college students as part of a club?
May I show it to attendees to a nonprofit event?
May I show it to attendees to a for-profit event?
I’m pretty sure the answer to #1 is yes, and the answer to #5 is no, but I’m not sure about the ones in between. Can anyone help me out?
In all cases, does the legality change if I publicize the fact that I’ll be showing the movie?
I would say that only #1 (private showing, not for pay) is permitted by the Average Movie.
I know that this applies to most of the movies that we can borrow from the public library; a few of them are specifically marked that they may be publically exhibited.
"What constitutes “public performance” of an entertainment movie?
Basically, any exhibition of an entertainment movie to groups outside the privacy of a home setting is construed as a public performance."
And then goes on to state that pretty much any public performance is a violation of copyright. Based on this, I’d say that your #1 is OK and your school events (2a and 2b) are OK if there’s a teacher in attendance and the movie is an essential part of the curriculum. The others (3-5) would be in violation.
Again, I don’t have any special knowledge and I’m just going by what a licensing company says which may be like asking Sony about copyright laws.
The problem with trying to squeeze a classroom display of a movie for entertainment is that such a display lacks the “transformative value” of a parody. The Acuff-Rose Court found this important:
*Id. *[1]
This isn’t the use of a part of a work in the creation of a new work that comments on or criticizes the copyrighted work. It is just a display for fun. Therefore, Section 107, probably does not help. There are other difficulties, too.
So the short answer to your question is no, unless the teacher is able to work it into a lesson plan.