# Showing a movie question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 25, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166 "2017-01-25T18:08:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/1 "2017-01-25T18:08:18Z")
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.
---
### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/2 "2017-01-25T18:22:13Z")
[http://www.mplc.org/copyright](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]
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/3 "2017-01-25T18:28:31Z")
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.)
> [@](#):
>
> Warning: The copyright proprietor has licensed the program (including, without limitation, its soundtrack) contained in this Digital Versatile Disc for private home use only. Unless otherwise expressly licensed by the copyright proprietor, all other rights are reserved. Use in other locations such as airlines, clubs, coaches, hospitals, hotels, oil rigs, prisons, schools and ships is prohibited unless expressly authorized by the copyright proprietor. Any unauthorized copying, editing, exhibition, renting hiring, exchanging, lending, public performances, diffusion and or broadcast, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. Any such action establishes liability for a civil action and may give rise to criminal prosecution.
> WARNING: All rights of the producer and of the owner of the work reproduced reserved. Unauthorized copying, hiring, renting, lending, public performance, radio or TV broadcasting of this DVD prohibited
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.
---
### Author:  [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/4 "2017-01-25T18:29:56Z")
How about the TV room at the local senior living center?
---
### Author:  [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/5 "2017-01-25T18:58:41Z")
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?
---
### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/6 "2017-01-25T19:12:03Z")
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.
---
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/7 "2017-01-25T22:09:41Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#):
>
> 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.
---
### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/8 "2017-01-25T22:23:25Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> 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.
And I presume it doesn’t matter if I own the theater since it’s still outside my home. Correct?
---
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/9 "2017-01-25T22:37:16Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#):
>
> And I presume it doesn’t matter if I own the theater since it’s still outside my home. Correct?
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.
---
### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/10 "2017-01-25T23:20:36Z")
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…
---
### Author:  [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/11 "2017-01-26T00:31:55Z")
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.
---
### Author:  [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/12 "2017-01-26T08:27:58Z")
Wasn’t there some weird thing where you couldn’t record sports programs because taping them for future viewing was explicitly illegal?
---
### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/13 "2017-01-26T17:28:02Z")
> [@Asuka](#):
>
> Wasn’t there some weird thing where you couldn’t record sports programs because taping them for future viewing was explicitly illegal?
There’s no difference between sports programs and any other category.
A person can tape a game/movie/TV show and watch it later in private. If they tape a game/movie/TV show and show it public, that’s a problem.
---
### Author:  [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)
#### Post date: [January 26, 2017, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-a-movie-question/778166/14 "2017-01-26T23:38:15Z")
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.