LibGuides: Copyright Basics and Beyond: Showing Movies in Class and On Campus

Need to Know

When you buy, rent, or borrow a DVD, Blu-ray, or VHS tape of a movie, TV show, or any other audiovisual work made by someone else (often referred to generally as “film” for short), you normally obtain only the copy, and not the underlying copyright rights to the film. You are free to watch the film yourself, or with your family and a few friends, but most things beyond that are prohibited by law. You do not have the right to show the film to “the public.”

When you want to perform, display, or show a film, video, or TV program, whether it be as part of a course, at a group or club activity, at an organization event, or as a training exercise, you have to consider the rights of the those who own the copyright to the work you want to use. This consideration must be made regardless of who owns the video or where you obtained it. Copyright owners have certain rights, which are commonly known as public performance rights (PPR).

When you're using a film, video, or TV program in a classroom for teaching or educational purposes, such performance or display of the entire work may be allowed without permission under the face to face teaching exemption at 17 U.S.C. §110(1).

When showing a film in an online class, it may be considered fair use depending on how much of the film is being shown and for what purposes. If fair use does not apply, you will need to obtain PPR streaming license or view the film through a PPR licensed streaming film provider. (Swank is a major provider of PPR for college campuses.) Due to copyright restrictions, McFarlin Library is no longer able to upload movies to Harvey.

In most other cases, especially when the film, video, or TV program is being shown as part of an event, you need permission--often in the form of a public performance rights (PPR) license--to perform or show the copyrighted work.

At this time, McFarlin is not able to purchase PPR licenses for professors or student groups.

Videos and Movies for Class Instruction

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Streaming Services and Students

Access to content on streaming services like Netlix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon, and similar services is restricted to individual users. Even if you have a paid account, you will need separate public performances rights to show it publicly, using the same criteria for evaluation as above. It is sometimes more frustrating with content that is exclusive to the streaming services, as they don't make everything available for license.

Showing Videos in Online Courses

The Copyright Act at §110(1) (face to face teaching exemption) allows for the performance or display of video or film in a classroom where instruction takes place in classroom with enrolled students physically present and the film is related to the curricular goals of the course.

The TEACH Act amendment to the Copyright Act, codified at §110(2), permits the performance of a reasonable and limited portion of films in an online classroom. Under the TEACH Act, there is the expressed limitation on quantity, and an entire film will rarely constitute a reasonable and limited portion. Instructors may also rely upon fair use for showing films in an online course, although showing an entire film online also may not constitute fair use.

Finally, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibits the circumvention of technological prevention measures (TPM) on DVDs and other media for the purpose of copying and distributing their content. Therefore, digitizing and streaming an entire DVD is not permissible unless an express exemption permits this. Currently, there is an exemption permitting faculty to circumvent TPM only to make clips of films for use in teaching and research.

Further Guide Attribution

This page is adapted from "Copyright on Campus" by Perry Collins, University of Florida Libraries is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Do I need PPR?

YES -- you need public performance rights:

If the showing of the video is open to the public, such as a screening at a public event, OR
If the showing is in a public space where access is not restricted, such as a a showing of a film for a class but in a venue that is open to anyone to attend, OR
If persons attending are outside the normal circle of family and friends, such as a showing of a film by a club or organization.

NO -- you do not need public performance rights:

If you are privately viewing the film in your home with only family and friends in attendance, OR
If you are an instructor showing the film to an in-person class as part of the course curriculum to officially enrolled students in an on-campus classroom that is not open to others to attend, OR
If the film is in the public domain.

FAQ - Showing Films on Campus

Is my film screening a “public performance”?
The showing of film is a “public performance” if either of the following is true:

You will be showing the movie to people other than members of your family or a small group of your friends.
You will be showing the movie in a place that is open to people other than members of your family or a small group of your friends (for example, a classroom, the auditorium, or the Tap Room), whether or not any such people attend.
Generally speaking, showing film in your home or dorm room will not constitute a public performance, as long as you limit attendance to family and friends. Most other screenings will constitute public performances.

Is there an applicable exception to the license requirement?
Even if your proposed screening will constitute a “public performance”, you still will not need to obtain a license if any of the following is true:

You will be showing the movie in the course of “face-to-face teaching activities” (that is, not through digitization or other forms of electronic transmission) that will take place in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction (that is, not in an auditorium or other public venue, unless it is being used for, and restricted to participants in, the teaching activities), and you have a legitimate copy of the movie (which, in general, does not include one that you have videotaped yourself from a broadcast).
Your copy of the movie came with an express license authorizing the particular manner of showing. (For example, some educational movies purchased at the “institutional” price, come with licenses to show the movies for certain noncommercial institutional purposes.)
The movie you wish to show is in the “public domain”. (Determining whether a particular movie is in the public domain can be quite difficult, and even movies that are quite old can still be protected by copyright.) The Library of Congress publishes a list of movies it believes to be in the public domain that may be useful.

Our student club wants to show a film but it is for educational purposes. There is a plan for discussion about the issues raised in the film after it's shown. Do we still need Public Performance Rights?

It depends. Ordinarily, the showing of a film by a group or club is for entertainment purposes and thus PPR is required. However, if the group's purpose and activities are ordinarily educational in nature and the showing of the film is in furtherance of those educational purposes and activities, then it may be fair use to show the film without PPR.

What about a film series hosted by a group or club that is open to and advertised to the public?

The showing of a film as part of a film series is viewed as entertainment even if hosted or sponsored by an educational group or club. No matter how educational the setting or how tied to the curriculum, this is generally considered not to be fair use and PPR must be obtained.

I own the DVD that the club I am a member of wants to show. Do I still need to get PPR?

It doesn't matter where the film you are planning to show comes from--your own collection, the Library's, or the corner video rental shop--the analysis is the same. If an exception under copyright law does not apply (e.g. fair use, face-to-face teaching), then you must obtain PPR prior to showing the film.

What does "Home Use Only" mean? Does it mean I cannot show this DVD to my class?

Under copyright law, copyright holders have the exclusive right of performing or displaying their copyrighted works, including films or videos. The "Home Use Only" warning at the beginning of most DVDs refers to this exclusive right of performance and display. However, the law also has an exception for performing or displaying works in a face-to-face teaching situation where the work being performed or displayed is related to the curriculum and only being performed or displayed for students enrolled in a course at a non-profit educational institution (such as Mt. SAC). Therefore, under this exception, DVDs with the "Home Use Only" warning can be played in a face to face classroom. For online courses, refer to fair use for determining how much of the film can be shown.

May I show clips of films to my students as part of a lecture?

Generally, yes, this is permissible under fair use. Apply the four factors of fair use to determine whether the film in question may be used for this purpose and how much of the film may be shown. New exemptions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) permit educators to "rip" clips from videos for educational purposes.

The film I want to show is on Netflix. Can I stream this through my Netflix account in the classroom?

Subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon have very detailed membership agreements that may forbid the streaming of subscribed content in a classroom or other public venue. When you agree to the terms of membership, you enter into a contract and the terms of that contract trump any applicable exception in copyright. Therefore, if the membership agreement with Netflix prohibits the showing of the film in a classroom, you are bound by the terms of that agreement even if the face to face teaching exception would otherwise allow it. We encourage instructors who plan to show films as part of their class, particularly when the class is taught online, to investigate the availability of films through Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and other subscription or short term rental streaming services and to require their students to access that content on their own through their own subscription or account.

Copyright Basics and Beyond: Showing Movies in Class and On Campus