Showing Disney to students

[honeybefly]

I know someone who is a teacher who needed to occupy a class full of students for several hours. He was going to rent a "family" DVD, and I suggested several Disney DVD's, like "Holes". He was very reluctant since he said he had heard that Disney is very litigious about showing their films to classes. I had no idea this was something Disney had a problem with. Can anyone confirm/deny this? You would think they would like the free advertising.

[Ludwig Von Drake]

Due to copyright laws stated at the begining of every movie, the FBI warning that no one reads. It is ilegal to show a movie in a public place without consent of the company. Even though this is true I have seen numerous movies in school and I am sure that none of my teachers ever wrote for or recieved permission

[honeybefly]

But have you ever heard of Disney taking legal action against any teachers/schools for doing so?

[Luke]

Here's a site you can read about how to become copyright-compliant:

http://www.movlic.com/

I'm sure you can 'get away' with showing movies in classes, and I'm sure a majority of schools do so, without licenses, but nonetheless, if you want to be 'by the book', check out that site.

[Escapay]

Couldn't schools just use the Fair Use exemption?

17 U.S.C. 107 (1988 & Supp. IV 1993). Section 107 provides in part:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonerecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

2. The nature of the copyrighted work;

3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

If a teacher is showing something (like a movie) to a class, the teacher only needs to use it for educational purposes.

Escapay

[Ludwig Von Drake]

That seems like a good idea, but I don't think that disney will ever know if a teacher shows a movie to their class

[poco]

and how many churches photocopy music for choirs to sing on Sunday or other services when that is copyrighted material as well?

be careful of what movie you show. parents this day in age will sue for anything if it goes against their beliefs. if a mom or dad didn't like the movie that little Timmy watched they can make a ruckus and then it could go legal, meaning the school would have to show that they did get an okay from Disney because I don't think Disney would like it if they came across as a defendant and then had to turn around and sue for their copyright being "violated".

[AwallaceUNC]

Growing up, we were allowed to watch Disney movies all through elementary and middle school (and did so frequently). Towards the end of middle school (around '99-ish), there was a big to-do about Disney exempting themselves from the fair use policy, and that we were no longer allowed to watch them, unless they were in Spanish (not even French qualified). Now I don't know how true all of that is, I didn't really come from a quality school system, lol... but that's what they said.

-Aaron

[Disney Guru]

Even though it does say don't show them in public places. They still do a lot. WHen I was little I have fond memories of seeing Disney Movies at school. Like So Dear To My Heart, Rescuers and a lot of others.

[Mushu2083]

I've seen Disney movies in school as a child and my teachers never wrote asking for permission. Why do we need permission now? It's not like teachers are showing the movies for profit or something.

[MickeyMousePal]

I used to watch Disney movies when I was in high school.
The teachers did't have to ask permission.
That is so weird and silly.
I watch Beauty and the Beast in Spanish class in 1998.
I also watch Remember the Titans in Civics class in 2001.

I heard no thing about schools banning Disney films.

[AwallaceUNC]

I heard no thing about schools banning Disney films.

From what I understand, it's not that the schools banned Disney, it's that Disney banned the schools from showing their movies. That is the policy our school system followed starting around 1999 or so.

-Aaron

[Kram Nebuer]

I've seen Disney movies in school as a child and my teachers never wrote asking for permission. Why do we need permission now? It's not like teachers are showing the movies for profit or something.

That's true. As far as I know, teachers didn't charge us to get into the classroom to see a movie . hehehe.

I only watched parts of Pocahontas in history class to compare the romanticized Disney version with what really happened. Other times we watched Disney movies just for fun. We watched B&B and Disneyland Fun in 1st grade b/c it was the end of the year and we had nothing to do. On Orchestra trips, if we had the fancy buses, we would watch Disney movies on the way to where we were going. What's wrong with watching Disney movies if were watching them for the purpose they were made?

[Loomis]

Couldn't schools just use the Fair Use exemption?

...
If a teacher is showing something (like a movie) to a class, the teacher only needs to use it for educational purposes.

Yup, certainly could. I was going to mention that before I read your post. In fact, in most cases, schools get away with stuff under the fair use exception. We have the same law here.

If it is being used as a "time wasting" activity, rather than educational then it might not come under the fair use exception on a technicality, but I'm pretty confident you can show it. However, I think Disney do get shirty about pictures of Mickey going up on school murals or doctor's offices....

[AwallaceUNC]

We were told Disney had actually exempted themselves from the fair use policy, anyone know if they can actually do this?

-Aaron

[Disney Guru]

I think that is stuped that you can't show Disney in school anymore!

[Loomis]

We were told Disney had actually exempted themselves from the fair use policy, anyone know if they can actually do this?

-Aaron

According to that site Luke has linked above (which actually has a picture of the Holes movie poster on it), you can only show those movies if you have a licence to do so. The Fair Use policy only applies if the film is being shown in class and is an essential part of the school curriculum.

You can now show Copyrighted Entertainment Movies legally on videocassette or DVD in your K-12 public school, if you have a Movie Public Performance Site License.

Such a license provides insurance against copyright non-compliancy.
Movie Licensing USA, Licensing Agent for most major studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Miramax, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, United Artists and a number of independent studios, provides Movie Public Performance Site Licensing to schools for the use of entertainment videos. The Movie License ensures copyright compliance for showing of copyrighted movies produced by the studios represented, and used by schools for numerous non-teaching activities.

[feedmelinguini]

Couldn't schools just use the Fair Use exemption?

17 U.S.C. 107 (1988 & Supp. IV 1993). Section 107 provides in part:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonerecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

2. The nature of the copyrighted work;

3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

If a teacher is showing something (like a movie) to a class, the teacher only needs to use it for educational purposes.

Escapay

Yes, teachers could use the fair use exemption, but they must consider all four of these points. For instance, they must consider the portion of the film used (point #3) and whether or not their use would hurt sales of the film (point #4). Using a complete film in class with no tie-in to an educational component probably is not legal, particularly if the video is in print. But, there purposefully is no cut-and-dried definites when it comes to copyright. This is so copyright law can be applied to future formats and technologies. Each copyright case that comes up in court must be viewed as a separate case, and only a court can determine whether a given use was appropriate or not. Holders of copyright are required to give reasonable notice to violators before pursuing legal means.

Further, Disney has no right as a company to exempt themselves from fair use. No company has that right. Copyright was meant to protect the author of a work for a period of time <b>and then</b> make these works available to everyone after that time. In other words, it was meant to protect the author and benefit the public. Disney and other companies successfully got an extension to copyright law which, in my opinion, unfairly benefits the author at the expense of the public for too long. However, even with the extension, <b>all Disney works</b> will eventually become public domain, and will be able to be used in any manner anyone sees fit. Some of the early shorts (Laugh-o-grams and Alices) are already in the public domain.

Lon

[feedmelinguini]

Disney Educational Productions offers many Disney films with site licenses, even some that haven't otherwise been released. If you purchase these (which may vary in price from around US$60 to US$200 each), you need not trouble yourself with copyright issues (unless you're charging admission or something like that...).

Lon

[Loomis]

Using a complete film in class with no tie-in to an educational component probably is not legal, particularly if the video is in print. But, there purposefully is no cut-and-dried definites when it comes to copyright. This is so copyright law can be applied to future formats and technologies.[...]

Further, Disney has no right as a company to exempt themselves from fair use. No company has that right. Copyright was meant to protect the author of a work for a period of time <b>and then</b> make these works available to everyone after that time. In other words, it was meant to protect the author and benefit the public.
Lon

Yes, exactly. So while Disney can't exempt themselves from the Fair Use, they can challenge a place for not actually coming under the Fair Use exemption (i.e. it is not being used for educational purposes).

Your second point is something I wanted to discuss further though. "Copyright was meant to protect the author of a work for a period of time and then make these works available to everyone after that time." I find it disturbing that there are people pushing for the "Sonny Bono-style legislation that would seek to extend the period of copyright to a ridiculously long amount of time. Presently, this is something like lifetime of the author + 50 years. The purpose of copyright, as you say, is not to keep the work out of the hands of the public, but to protect the author, so that they may see their rightful profit and proper use of material.

This is perhaps moving way off topic, so I wont say any more here.