Posted on 02/03/2020 7:52:28 PM PST by nickcarraway
An elementary school in Berkeley has been ordered to pay up for playing a Disney video during a fund-raising event at the school.
It happened in November when the Dad’s Club of the PTA presented a “parent’s night out” fundraiser at Emerson Elementary to support the school.
In its school calendar listing, the club said it was going to play the most-recent version of the Disney animated film, “The Lion King.”
“I think one of the dads owned the movie. He had bought it at Walmart and we just basically threw it on while the kids were playing in the auditorium,” said PTA president David Rose.
But last Thursday, five months later, the school got a letter from a company called SWANK Movie Licensing USA. The company enforces Disney’s cinematic copyrights and the letter demanded $250 from the school for playing the film without a license.
Copyright law says you cannot display a movie outside of your home to any size audience for entertainment purposes without paying a licensing fee. The dads didn’t realize that and now appear to be on the hook for the $250 one-time showing fee.
“The event made $800, so if we have to fork over a third of it to Disney, so be it. You know, lesson learned,” said Rose.
But Emerson parent and Berkeley City Council member Lori Droste believes there is a larger issue than just Disney’s rights. The PTA’s fundraisers don’t just support frivolous items. They help pay for teachers and vital services at the school.
“Here you have a company that makes so much money and we have schools that are struggling so much,” Droste said. “What I thought about was just the irony of having a multi-billion dollar company essentially ask a school to pay up.”
But how did the licensing company find out that the DVD had been played? Did a parent turn them in or is the company scanning the internet and noticed the listing in the school calendar? At this point, no one at the school knows for sure.
The PTA president says the organization will pay the fee and they hope that amount can be recouped through donations.
I called the producers. I managed training staff and they had the film on large reels.
I said do you have permission in writing. No.
Coincidentally I had watched the movie it may have been part off the Police Story series, but it was 2 hour made for TV. We were doing negotiator training in those days.
The company name was on the start of the film.
That should be the “registration of the copyright” not “a registered one”.
No dork
Where you been?
And what kind of nasty LIEberal would sue the PTA?
Some people need to get a life!
Shakedown racket. Lawsuits like these are by lawyers who search for “violations” and then offer to give the copyright holder some money if they win.
Charge Disney for all the word of mouth advertising. They’d be broke in one year.
Kim DotCom still fighting extradition.
How does anyone know if “SWANK Movie Licensing USA” is even real? Seriously, they could just go around trolling online PTA calendars looking for group videos and send a demand letter asking for a $250 payment to a LA PO Box
I bet if you just tossed it in the trash, nothing will happen
Nobody sues over $250 and that is all the would be entitled to in court.
Swank is real, and it’s been around for a long time. At college 50 years ago we had to pay Swank to show a movie.
I dispute several of their claims
https://www.swank.com/public-libraries/faq/
Educational facilities (libraries and schools) can probably safely show such works (if no money is being collected). There are provisions under copyright law for use (even reproduction) of works for educational purposes.
Also in the FAQ there is a question about where does the group screening the movie (after paying SWANK some money) get their copy to show. Um uh go to the store and buy a DVD or stream it. They do say that not all streaming services permit public screenings. You’ll notice on DVDs a big warning that they are for public screening either (but SWANK ignores that).
Good thing it wasn’t Mickey Mouse or it would have REALLY cost them.
“Copyright law says you cannot display a movie outside of your home to any size audience for entertainment purposes without paying a licensing fee.”
This would mean you can’t play a DVD at your relative’s or friend’s house.
IIRC, if copyrights are not enforced, the holder runs the risk of losing that copyright. Therefore, they must ask for the money. But, if I were Disney, I would advertise that fact and make a donation at least 10xs as large.
Dude, read the article. The Lion King movie is not quite 50 years old!
Besides, if you are going to ice law, better look it up next time.
There are lawyers who’d shake you down for money when an earworm song plays over and over in your head if they could.
Disney pays SWANK to track copyright infringements of its catalog. Almost all companies with a trademark or copyright do that or else it’s seen as their condoning what would be illegal use of their copyrights and/or trademarks.
MLB also is tough with showing clips of baseball games
= = =
I read the statement at the end of the Super Bowl game.
In all the ‘fine print’ it sounded like you can not even report the score without a violation.
In matters of copyright there’s an old saying: “Don’t f*ck with the mouse.”
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