Commercial films in training?

A colleague in my field (training and development) forwarded quotes from a recent article in a training magazine. The magazine's audience consists of training managers, instructors, developers, and others engaged in similar activity, with an emphasis on the business world rather than the academic world. The article dealt with using feature films in classroom training and similar efforts.

Two statements surprised my colleague -- and me:

"One caution about using movies in your training sessions: The
   consensus of attorneys and industry representatives is that showing    a rented or purchased movie to an in-house training audience probably    does not violate the movie's licensing agreement, and would certainly    not bring down the wrath of Hollywood producers."

"...However, if you plan to advertise the showing or charge admission
   to your training session, you must make appropriate arrangements with    the film's producer or distributor."

While I am not a lawyer, don't practice law, avoid breaking laws, it seems clear from lurking on this copyright list that the first statement about "consensus of attorneys" is optimistic, if not downright untrue. I also think the second statement is misleading, in that it implies advertising or admission are the key factors determining whether permission is required.

I'd like to hear opinions of attorneys or others competent to address the issue. What I would particularly like is permission to summarize such opinion (labeled as such) for members of the training and development list (TRDEV-L), to which my colleague's item was posted.

Regards,
Dave

David Ferguson
Project Mgr., Sales Training
GE Information Services
100 Edison Park Drive, 5-4B2
Gaithersburg MD 20850
301-340-5690; -5710 fax
david.ferguson[_at_]geis.ge.com
....my opinions, not GE's... Received on Wed Jul 14 1999 - 17:45:32 GMT