Can a student organization show one of the library's films?
Answer
Any film showings outside the regular curriculum such as club viewings, film festivals, etc. are considered public performance.
Most library DVDs do not include public performance rights, so cannot be shown. We do have limited public performance rights for films from our Academic Video Online (AVON) database and for our Films on Demand database. Each of these does include a limited amount of feature films although they are more heavily documentaries. Public performance rights are rarely included for popular theatrical release films. The only exceptions are in the AVON database; films distributed by the company Film Platform may NOT be shown.
The limited public performance rights restrict the event to to current faculty, staff, students, and visiting scholars (no members of the general public) and admission may not be charged. Visiting scholars can be from outside the RMC community if they are invited specifically for their expertise to discuss the film. Although admission may not be charged, it is okay to ask for, but not require, donations for a charitable fundraiser such as cans for a food drive, etc.