Hello,
I really hope someone can give me some input on this. I'm a student at UCLA who recently started a film society devoted to screening and teaching people about classic and artistic cinema. The group would be completely non-profit and consist only of other UCLA students. After creating the organization, I was recently told by someone that to screen any film, I must first purchase the the "public performance" rights regardless of reasons, intentions, venue, etc. As each film costs $200+, I simply can't afford to do that. I'm only a student interested in showing movies that are 60 years old to a handful of people in a classroom for free.
When researching copyright law, I came across this (17.usc.110):
"Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made"
I feel like this describes what we will be doing almost perfectly. At every meeting, I would be teaching at length about the films, the creators, their production, and their significance to cinema and culture.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to if this clause could apply to me and my group?
I really hope someone can give me some input on this. I'm a student at UCLA who recently started a film society devoted to screening and teaching people about classic and artistic cinema. The group would be completely non-profit and consist only of other UCLA students. After creating the organization, I was recently told by someone that to screen any film, I must first purchase the the "public performance" rights regardless of reasons, intentions, venue, etc. As each film costs $200+, I simply can't afford to do that. I'm only a student interested in showing movies that are 60 years old to a handful of people in a classroom for free.
When researching copyright law, I came across this (17.usc.110):
"Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made"
I feel like this describes what we will be doing almost perfectly. At every meeting, I would be teaching at length about the films, the creators, their production, and their significance to cinema and culture.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to if this clause could apply to me and my group?