Public Performance Rights

Library Media and Public Performance Rights

The copyright owner of a motion picture or other audiovisual work has numerous rights, including the public performance of the work¹. A public performance² of a work occurs if any of the following conditions are met:

the screening is open to the public
the screening is in a public space where access is not restricted
persons attending are outside the normal circle of a family and its acquaintances

Examples of public performances include:

showing a foreign-language film to the community for cultural enrichment
showing a film to your club or organization in Lecture Hall 3
instructor showing a film in the classroom for curriculum-related purposes, but in a public or unrestricted-access location

Examples of non-public performances include:

privately viewing a film in your room with friends
an instructor showing the film to officially registered students in a classroom, where content of film directly relates to the course

Many of the videos and DVDs in Library Media do not include public performance rights. Educational use of motion pictures is covered by Section 110(1)³ the Copyright Law, Title 17, U.S. Code, which allows for "performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction." Distance education is covered in the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act⁴.

While some UMBC-owned titles include Public Performance Rights, most do not. If you plan to show a UMBC Library Media film to your club or student organization on campus, you should check with the Media Librarian
to determine whether the video includes a Public Performance License. If public performance rights are needed, one must contact the copyright owner or the owner’s authorized representative. A list of commonly-used representatives is available from the Media Librarian.

This information should be viewed as a resource and not considered legal advice. One may wish to consult an attorney for advice concerning specific copyright questions.

Footnotes
1.http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#106
2.http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101
3.http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#110
4.http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl107-273.html#13301