Legal Question in Entertainment Law in Florida
public showing of movie
Our home owners assoc. wants to provide a free movie night for residents, projecting a dvd movie on a large screen in our meeting hall. No charge for admission. One of the board members said that would be illegal because it would be a ''public showing''. Would it be legal or not?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: public showing of movie
Your board member is correct. You'd have to purchase a "public showing license" in order to show the movie outside the home, even for free. Of course, movies get shown all the time in public unlicensed and people get away with it, but strictly speaking, it violates copyright. Public showing licenses usually run about $75, and there are companies on the web that represent the different movie studios for license purchase purposes. Even schools and daycares shouldn't be showing movies without licenses, but it happens all the time.
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