This may belong in CS or IMHO, but I’m going to start here since there should be a factual answer.
Scenario 1: I legally purchase a DVD and I live in the US. I decide I’m going to invite some friends over to my house and show the DVD I just purchased. I’m not charging anybody to see the movie. It’s a private showing in a private space. I don’t think I am violating any federal law.
Scenario 2: I legally purchase a DVD and I live in the US. I decide I’m going to rent out my local movie theater for a few hours and show the DVD I just purchased to some of my friends. I’m not charging anybody to see the movie. It’s a private showing in a usually public space. Am I violating any federal law?
Scenario 3: I legally purchase a DVD and I live in the US. I decide I’m going to rent out my local movie theater for a few hours and show the DVD I just purchased to anybody who wants to see it. In other words it’s open to the public. I’m not charging anybody to see the movie. It’s now a public showing in a public place. Am I violating any federal law?
The answer is likely to be ‘it depends’, but I’m interested in hearing what others think the answer is for each of these specific scenarios.
http://www.mplc.org/copyright
[ul]
[li]Films may be shown without a separate license in the home to “a normal circle of family and its social acquaintances” (Section 101) because such showings are not considered “public.”[/li][li]Films may be shown without a license to non-profit educational institutions for “face-to-face teaching activities” because the law provides a limited exception for such showings. (Section 110(1))[/li][li]All other public performances of motion pictures and other audiovisual works are illegal unless they have been authorized by license. Even “performances in ‘semipublic’ places such as clubs, lodges, factories, summer camps and schools are ‘public performances’ subject to copyright control.” (Senate Report No. 94-473, page 60; House Report No. 94-1476, page 64)[/li][/ul]
Here’s the text of the copyright notice I found via Google for a DVD. It’s typical of what I’ve seen on DVDs I rent or own. It specifically says it’s for “private home use only” and mentions other locations that aren’t allowed and mentions that “public performance” isn’t allowed. (I was always amused that they specifically mention oil rigs, for some reason.)
To answer your questions, it appears that only your first scenario would be permitted by the license. And I suspect that if you did rent out a local movie theater, they would not allow you to show a DVD unless the appropriate rights have been obtained.
If the Girl Guides get dunned for royalties on their campfire songs, why would you expect to get away with showing a movie outside your home?
I’d be curious to know the answer with the seniors’ TV room. It’s debatable whether it was a public space, commercial space, or part of someone’s home.
A literal reading of the copyright notice suggests those hotel rooms with DVD players attached to their TV’s are inducing you to violate copyright; as are hotels that have an HDMI interface on their TV for you to plug in your own DVD player or PC.
What’s “unauthorized lending”? That’s new one - you cannot even lend friends your DVD?
I had assumed that Scenario 1 was legal and that Scenario 3 was clearly illegal, but I was really interested in Scenario 2.
I rent an otherwise public space with a projection system and show a DVD to myself. We’re saying that’s illegal because it’s outside of my home? I didn’t realize that.
By the letter of the law, it sounds that way to me.
Also, regarding the “senior living center” – if what you’re talking about is a common room of a residential facility (i.e., a nursing home, an assisted-living facility), it might fly (IANAL, of course). But, if what you’re talking about is a public / semi-public “activity center” for senior citizens, I would think it’d be considered to be similar to the “clubs” or “lodges” that are mentioned in Darren Garrison’s both.
Since it wouldn’t qualify under points 1 or 2 in that list, I would guess that it would be prohibited, yes.
Also, as I understand it (since you mentioned “I’m not charging anyone to see the movie” in your third scenario), the fact that you may or may not be profiting from the showing has nothing to do with whether or not you’re violating the copyright.
As for situation 3, besides copyright issues, some places require a permit for just about everything. Talking to the owner of a local bar here in LA, he needed a permit for alcohol (obv), a separate permit for jukebox, a seperate permit for live music, one for a dart game etc etc etc…not sure if or which of those were state or city ordinances…
In practice people aren’t prosecuted for the “public place” rule if they aren’t selling tickets and its a small scale thing. School fees, hospital and old age, etc accommodation fees aren’t being counted as paying for tickets.
The main idea is that a cinema can’t just sell tickets to sit in the cinema seat . Oh someone is showing a movie… nice… we can sell those tickets cheap then ! It doesn’t work to change the cinema to be a club or put a sign up saying “language school” or anything like.
The reasons are to protect the industry selling licenses and media for cinemas and DVD’s for home use.
My local cinema has this on its website. You can rent the theater for various events.
Showing Films
If you are thinking of an event that relies on showing a commercial movie, be aware that we must follow copyright laws and book the films legitimately. Showing a commercial film or DVD in our venue adds a minimum of $250 and up to the rental.