On 10/16/98, Michael Scarpitti <mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> wrote:
>
> On 10/12/98, Michael Sullivan <mmsulliv[_at_]riderlaw.com> wrote:
> >
> > A client's wife is on the Board of a Lutheran Seminary. She
> > has proposed a "Film Festival" for Sunday afternoons where a
> > commercial film with religious overtones (The Apostle, The Mission,
> > City of Joy, etc.) would be shown from rented or personally-owned
> > videos and a discussion would follow the movie. The shows would
> > be free. Attendance is guessed to be around 100 people. Fair use
> > or violation?
>
> From what I have read on most film tapes packaging, it would not
> be a violation of copyright law to show the films, but it would be a
> violation of the license arrangement in re performance rights. These
> videotapes are licensed for private in-home use only, any other use is
> forbidden. If the parties involved made copies and gave them to the
> participants to take home and view, that would be a copyright
> infringement. Any comments?
I'm having trouble understanding what you're saying. I don't need a license to perform the video at home. As long as the performance doesn't meet the statutory definition of a public display (viewing at home doesn't normally meet that definition), there is no violation of law. I also don't need a license to tell me that I can't publicly perform the video because that is already a violation of law. I would only need the license permitting me to do so. So, I don't see how any license (and we'll put aside issues of its enforceability (I've never knowingly agreed to any license when renting a video)) is pertinent to this discussion.
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