COPYRIGHT LAW

According to the Federal Copyright Act, copyrighted materials like movies can be used publicly if they’re properly licensed. But here’s the kicker. Neither the rental nor purchase of a movie carries the right to exhibit it outside of one’s home, unless the site where the movie will be watched is properly licensed for a copyright compliant exhibition. Plus, copyright laws pertain to all movies regardless of the year they were produced.

What exactly is a public performance?
A public performance is any exhibition of a movie that is shown outside of someone’s home.

Why should I obey copyright law?
Violating copyright law through unauthorized use of a movie:

• Prevents those who worked hard on a film from receiving their just compensation.
• Essentially robs motivation to create from authors, computer programmers, playwrights, musicians, inventors, movie producers and more.

A public performance licensing fee includes money paid to the entire cast and crew who worked on the film from start to finish. If these men and women do not receive this hard-earned revenue through sources like licensing fees, they may no longer invest their time, research and development costs to create new movies.

Who does copyright law apply to?
This law applies to everyone, regardless of whether admission is charged, whether the institution is commercial or nonprofit or whether a federal, state or local agency is involved.

This means motorcoaches, colleges, universities, public schools, public libraries, day care facilities, parks, recreation departments, summer camps, churches, private clubs, prisons, lodges, businesses and more all must properly license movies to show them publicly.

Do we need a license even if someone owns the movie?
Yes! The rental, purchase, lending or download of a movie does not provide the right to exhibit it publicly outside the home unless the screening is properly licensed. You can only obtain copyright licensing directly from a licensor (such as Motorcoach Movies) or the studio itself, not from a third party.

Who’s responsible if a film is shown without a license?
The management of the motorcoach where the movie is shown bears the ultimate responsibility and consequences of copyright infringement. However, anyone involved with the public performance of copyrighted material could be implicated.