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Hello,
I am a film nut and hope to get into screen writing someday. I had some questions that popped up and I asked my friend in LA, who is already in the movie industry, but he has not returned my email yet. Then I came across this website and thought I would ask other professionals too.
Bear with me, I am new.
During the Summer, a local store started showing old movies on the side of their wall on Saturday night. Films like 3 stooges and also Wizard of Oz. Families could come with lounge chairs and relax in the parking lot and enjoy the evening like a drive in theater. It was meant to be a community fund raiser for something. When I heard this, I thought.. How can they do that? When I tried to have a film night and show DVD movies for the youth group at my church, I was told I was violating some rule and yet my daughters high school had their film night on New Years Eve and what about colleges? They show inde's in their auditoriums. What are the rules and what do I do If I want to show movies at my church and ask for donations? Also, How is Netflicks able to offer movie rentals by mail. Do they need some distributors license or something. I am a photographer and I know a little about copyright, but I am in the dark as far as acting like a small movie house. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
filmnut

As you are already aware, there is a copyright issue involved with the vast majority of film, and only those in the 'Public Domain' are free of such restrictions. To determine the status of any product that might be old enough to be in the Public Domain, contact the Copyright Clearance Office of the Library of Congress by mail or via their site: www.loc.gov Note that even if an item is no longer under active copyright, the source you obtain it from may have restrictions in their contract which can act almost like a copyright, and you would be legally bound to follow their wishes. As the Copyright people will tell you, however, many films are registered with provisions for non-commercial use, such as the school situations. The main difference, as the notices on some videos make clear, is that if you charge any type of admission, even 'donations,' you fall under many restrictions. Still, to just show any film without charging or accepting any thing of value in return does not automatically allow one to use someone's copyrighted product without permission; that is what the Copyright Clearance Office is for. In the video store's case, they either got clearance from the CCO, or they simply took the risk that no one would report them since they do not do it all the time. Check you local libraries or www.Amazon.com to find the books on copyright. The National Assoc. of Theatre Owners can probably direct you to any number of distributors/bookers who supply the films commercially. This site lists many distributors, primarily for IMAX, but they no doubt also carry standard 35mm and possibly 16mm also: http://www.1570films.com/distributors.htm This subject has been discussed before on these Forums, so you may want to check the Archived posts for more.

thank you jimor for the response to my questions. I will check further into the sources you listed. Does anyone use any formats other than 35mm or 16mm to show films in auditoriums etc? Like DVD.s with some kind projector like Daylite, using powerpoint, or small clips or screen grabs? Do these film distributors authorize that kind of use? How do movie websites get authorization to show movie trailers, old and new? I am not just curious about copyright laws, but also how to contact the powers that be to get authorization to show these movies legally, even if I have to pay royalties. I still have not heard from my friend in Hollywood and the subject just peaked my interest.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jimor:
As you are already aware, there is a copyright issue involved with the vast majority of film, and only those in the 'Public Domain' are free of such restrictions. To determine the status of any product that might be old enough to be in the Public Domain, contact the Copyright Clearance Office of the Library of Congress by mail or via their site: www.loc.gov Note that even if an item is no longer under active copyright, the source you obtain it from may have restrictions in their contract which can act almost like a copyright, and you would be legally bound to follow their wishes. As the Copyright people will tell you, however, many films are registered with provisions for non-commercial use, such as the school situations. The main difference, as the notices on some videos make clear, is that if you charge any type of admission, even 'donations,' you fall under many restrictions. Still, to just show any film without charging or accepting any thing of value in return does not automatically allow one to use someone's copyrighted product without permission; that is what the Copyright Clearance Office is for. In the video store's case, they either got clearance from the CCO, or they simply took the risk that no one would report them since they do not do it all the time. Check you local libraries or www.Amazon.com to find the books on copyright. The National Assoc. of Theatre Owners can probably direct you to any number of distributors/bookers who supply the films commercially. This site lists many distributors, primarily for IMAX, but they no doubt also carry standard 35mm and possibly 16mm also: http://www.1570films.com/distributors.htm This subject has been discussed before on these Forums, so you may want to check the Archived posts for more.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

for public viewing rights call angie at 1.800.876.3344. she is with swank (www.swank.com) which is a company that distributes movies (after 1st run gets them) to colleges and other groups.

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