A question for you attorneys...

James A. · 04-02-2008

Can our Bell Buckle park host a movie night, during which, we would project a dvd onto a large screen for a no-charge public viewing?

I am concerned about violating a copywrite agreement.

kirbyfan · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by James A.

Can our Bell Buckle park host a movie night, during which, we would project a dvd onto a large screen for a no-charge public viewing?

I am concerned about violating a copywrite agreement.

Not an attorney but I think as long as you arent charging for it it shouldnt be a problem.

**SunKneeMarie** · 04-02-2008

Ryan has a teacher that says she won't show the class any film related to Disney in any way, because they always are entitled to some sort of fee... I have no idea what she's talking about, but that's what she told them...

I found this which has someone asking a question similar to yours (although theirs is a business):
DVD public viewing? - Yahoo! Answers

and this link on coypright law in general (was the movie made before 1923? cuz then you're golden)
http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/pubperf.htm

(and even that last one is specific to classroom/education viewing, whereas yours isn't... and they still have things they can't violate, so I would imagine one "just for fun" like yours, might have even more restrictions...?)

Daddy B · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by James A.

Can our Bell Buckle park host a movie night, during which, we would project a dvd onto a large screen for a no-charge public viewing?

I am concerned about violating a copywrite agreement.

If it's a private film soirée and not for profit I don't think there would be any copyright infringement.

If in doubt, contact the company distributing the particular DVD explaining the purpose of the viewing, etc...

MWC · 04-02-2008

As long as nobody else is profiting from the showing, it should be okay.
You might want to run it past the town attorney of your town. Some municipalities deal with the potential for problems differently: our town, for example, lets non-profit entities publicize the title of the film they're showing; but the next town over, the library can't name the title of movies it shows, they just give a very vivid description of the movie so you can figure out what it is.
There are always ways around issues, but you are best to let the "boots on the ground" legal guy advise you.

**Heather** · 04-02-2008

When I hear about things like this, I feel really lucky to live in Mexico. Since you're not out to make a profit, copyright infringement wouldn't even OCCUR to me...but in an overly litigious country, I guess you have to.

Just Lucky · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heather

When I hear about things like this, I feel really lucky to live in Mexico. Since you're not out to make a profit, copyright infringement wouldn't even OCCUR to me...but in an overly litigious country, I guess you have to.

Hey, who are you calling overly litiguous? I should sue for defamation!

jtm1631 · 04-02-2008

I think you may have some issues. Even if you are not charging, the problem is you are showing it to people who would otherwise have to pay to see it.

so, while you are not making a profit, you are taking profit away from the distributor, film studio, etc.

Think about it, they are going after people who have purchased a CD and made a copy of the CD for their own personal use.

**Heather** · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtm1631

Think about it, they are going after people who have purchased a CD and made a copy of the CD for their own personal use.

Grrrrr

jamesblonde · 04-02-2008

Wouldn't this just fall under the 'having a group of friends over to watch a movie' category?

Buggirl · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtm1631

I think you may have some issues. Even if you are not charging, the problem is you are showing it to people who would otherwise have to pay to see it.

so, while you are not making a profit, you are taking profit away from the distributor, film studio, etc.

Think about it, they are going after people who have purchased a CD and made a copy of the CD for their own personal use.

Yeah- this is NOT COOL in my book. We had a lot of our CD's stolen out of our car once- ever since I carry copies in my cars. It was expensive to replace what we lost.

So arrest me, Big Music- but I ain't goin' without a fight

**SunKneeMarie** · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtm1631

I think you may have some issues. Even if you are not charging, the problem is you are showing it to people who would otherwise have to pay to see it.

so, while you are not making a profit, you are taking profit away from the distributor, film studio, etc.

Think about it, they are going after people who have purchased a CD and made a copy of the CD for their own personal use.

yes, that's what some of those links talk about... even in an educational setting, there were rules/guidelines... so to show a DVD to a group of people that would normally have purchased the DVD to watch it is the issue...

and Jami--there was some discussion on how large the group is before it's considered "public" or a problem... unfortunately I didn't see anything specific, like "If you have 50 or more..." that might be TOO easy!

jamesblonde · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunKneeMarie

and Jami--there was some discussion on how large the group is before it's considered "public" or a problem... unfortunately I didn't see anything specific, like "If you have 50 or more..." that might be TOO easy!

Well, that's just a normal friday night at our house. A couple hundred of our closest friends over to watch a movie

TAPPY · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by James A.

Can our Bell Buckle park host a movie night, during which, we would project a dvd onto a large screen for a no-charge public viewing?

I am concerned about violating a copywrite agreement.

Our city does it - the kids love it.

**Susie Q Roo** · 04-02-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunKneeMarie

yes, that's what some of those links talk about... even in an educational setting, there were rules/guidelines... so to show a DVD to a group of people that would normally have purchased the DVD to watch it is the issue...

and Jami--there was some discussion on how large the group is before it's considered "public" or a problem... unfortunately I didn't see anything specific, like "If you have 50 or more..." that might be TOO easy!

But in Bell Buckle, they might all be related, one way or the other, right, James? And surely no one could complain if your family came over to watch a movie together, could they?

04-02-2008	#1 (permalink)
James A. sandbagger vidiot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bell Buckle, TN Posts: 2,374	A question for you attorneys... Can our Bell Buckle park host a movie night, during which, we would project a dvd onto a large screen for a no-charge public viewing? I am concerned about violating a copywrite agreement.

04-02-2008	#3 (permalink)
SunKneeMarie character encapsulator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 26,807	Ryan has a teacher that says she won't show the class any film related to Disney in any way, because they always are entitled to some sort of fee... I have no idea what she's talking about, but that's what she told them... I found this which has someone asking a question similar to yours (although theirs is a business): DVD public viewing? - Yahoo! Answers and this link on coypright law in general (was the movie made before 1923? cuz then you're golden) http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/pubperf.htm (and even that last one is specific to classroom/education viewing, whereas yours isn't... and they still have things they can't violate, so I would imagine one "just for fun" like yours, might have even more restrictions...?) Last edited by SunKneeMarie; 04-02-2008 at 10:02 AM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

04-02-2008	#5 (permalink)
MWC añejo Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Connecticut Posts: 6,012	As long as nobody else is profiting from the showing, it should be okay. You might want to run it past the town attorney of your town. Some municipalities deal with the potential for problems differently: our town, for example, lets non-profit entities publicize the title of the film they're showing; but the next town over, the library can't name the title of movies it shows, they just give a very vivid description of the movie so you can figure out what it is. There are always ways around issues, but you are best to let the "boots on the ground" legal guy advise you.

04-02-2008	#6 (permalink)
Heather Staff Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 9,395	When I hear about things like this, I feel really lucky to live in Mexico. Since you're not out to make a profit, copyright infringement wouldn't even OCCUR to me...but in an overly litigious country, I guess you have to.

04-02-2008	#8 (permalink)
jtm1631 añejo Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,409	I think you may have some issues. Even if you are not charging, the problem is you are showing it to people who would otherwise have to pay to see it. so, while you are not making a profit, you are taking profit away from the distributor, film studio, etc. Think about it, they are going after people who have purchased a CD and made a copy of the CD for their own personal use.

04-02-2008	#10 (permalink)
jamesblonde No longer an intern Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: South of Seattle Posts: 7,642	Wouldn't this just fall under the 'having a group of friends over to watch a movie' category?

register to remove these adverts