Showing movies on campus should comply with copyright laws.
As original works, films are subject to copyright laws regarding their distribution and screening. When showing movies in a public setting like a college, it's important to be aware of these laws so copyright isn't intentionally or unintentionally violated, which can have severe legal consequences ranging from fines to jail time.
No Charge
In order to legally screen a film on campus, it's important that no fee be charged to see the film. The rights to make money from a movie are owned by the distributors or creators of a film. When a public screening of a film occurs without proper distribution rights, the creators obtain no money from any fee charged from the screening--a violation of copyright law.
Public Performance Rights
Showing a movie on campus, whether it's in a classroom, a resident hall or outdoors, constitutes a public showing. In order to legally show the film, public performance rights must be obtained from the copyright owner. There may be a fee to obtain the public performance rights. Fees are determined by factors such as the size of the audience and the number of viewings. In order to obtain the rights to show a film, you can contact the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (see Resource section). It's also possible that your college's library has already obtained public performance rights. Media Services in many universities have a number of films in their libraries that can be shown in public screenings. Contact the school's Media Services to determine if it has obtained public performance rights to a film.
Instructional Purposes
An exception to the copyright laws regarding public viewings of movies at a college is for films shown in the classroom for instructional purposes. If a movie is shown by a teacher for instructional purposes rather than entertainment, public performance rights do not need to be obtained. In these cases, the movie should directly relate to the curriculum, and the viewing should be accompanied by educational discussion.
Movies in the Public Domain
If a movie's copyright expires without renewal, the rights to the film enter the public domain. A movie in the public domain can be shown without obtaining public performance rights. Before showing a movie, it should be determined that the film has no current copyright. See the Resource section for a list of films in the public domain.
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