Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Perhaps not, and not for any intellectual-property reason, but due to the fact that if you are preparing food for sale, the Health & Safety Code probably requires that you have and use a commercial kitchen. Some churches have qualifying kitchens, but you probably don't have one at home. As for charging to see the DVD, you didn't say if it was a home movie you made or something under copyright; further, if the latter,the copyright holder might object to your allocation of money received 100% to snacks and 0% to admission fee to see the DVD.

Showing a movie to the public requires a license from the copyright owner. Copyright infringement does not pivot on the noncommercial use of the copyrighted work, but instead on whether your use falls under fair use.

As a church organization, you may want to look into Church Video Licensing (CVLI) (http://www.cvli.com/), this organization provides organizations such as yours the licenses necessary to show movies.

Goodluck,

Jim

Get a license for the movie and buy sealed popcorn bags, candy bars, etc.

As a Franchise Attorney I generally agree with the above answers, but add the following. A public showing of the DVD is copyright infringement. Do you remember seeing the warnings that begin on every DVD? Doing it as a church fundraiser and not charging for seeing the movie are not defenses to copyright infringement. Consult with a good intellectual property or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.

Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.

Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation