Private screening
Encyclopedia
A private screening refers to a screening of a commercially made film to a group of people somewhere other than one of their homes. The legal issues can be complex, as the rules and regulation vary from country to country.
for DVDs/videos that have been purchased or hired for domestic use. To organise a group screening, permission from the copyright owner of the title in question will need to be obtained. Obtaining such rights clearances can be a complex procedure.
For certain types of screening ("non-theatrical" screening), it is possible to hire a copy of a film from its distributor
with the rights already cleared. The primary non-theatrical distributors of feature films on DVD, video and 16mm
in Britain are the BFI and Filmbank Distributors.
Another option is to buy a blanket licence for the year known as a 'Public Video Screening Licence' which may work out cheaper if showing film is to be a regular event.
If you want to use your own legal version of the film on DVD, Bu Ray or download then a further option would be to contact the Motion Picture Licensing Company.
The Motion Picture Licensing Company (International) Limited, represents over 400+ major Hollywood studios and independent film producers in the UK and is the largest non-theatrical licensing company worldwide. It provides a ‘blanket licence’ called the MPLC Umbrella Licence for incidental, non theatrical film use. Licensees may use their own legally obtained DVD/Blue Ray/downloads at one low annual fee for unlimited annual screenings. It also provides a ‘title reporting’ licence for film club events via the MPLC Movie Licence.
United Kingdom
Showing a DVD or video to a group of people outside of the home is legally regarded as a public showing, and is therefore in breach of copyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
for DVDs/videos that have been purchased or hired for domestic use. To organise a group screening, permission from the copyright owner of the title in question will need to be obtained. Obtaining such rights clearances can be a complex procedure.
For certain types of screening ("non-theatrical" screening), it is possible to hire a copy of a film from its distributor
Distributor
A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order. The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. and introduced in the...
with the rights already cleared. The primary non-theatrical distributors of feature films on DVD, video and 16mm
16 mm film
16 mm film refers to a popular, economical gauge of film used for motion pictures and non-theatrical film making. 16 mm refers to the width of the film...
in Britain are the BFI and Filmbank Distributors.
Another option is to buy a blanket licence for the year known as a 'Public Video Screening Licence' which may work out cheaper if showing film is to be a regular event.
If you want to use your own legal version of the film on DVD, Bu Ray or download then a further option would be to contact the Motion Picture Licensing Company.
The Motion Picture Licensing Company (International) Limited, represents over 400+ major Hollywood studios and independent film producers in the UK and is the largest non-theatrical licensing company worldwide. It provides a ‘blanket licence’ called the MPLC Umbrella Licence for incidental, non theatrical film use. Licensees may use their own legally obtained DVD/Blue Ray/downloads at one low annual fee for unlimited annual screenings. It also provides a ‘title reporting’ licence for film club events via the MPLC Movie Licence.