Public performance rights are the legal rights to show a copyrighted film in a public setting. Nearly all films are protected by the Copyright Law of the United States under Chapter 1, Section 110 of Title 17 United States Code (USC). This means that in order to show a film in certain scenarios, the user must obtain a public performance rights license to be compliant with copyright law.
Fair use is an exception of copyright law that allows some use of copyrighted materials under certain conditions without permission from the copyright owner. Fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis. Visit the Boise State Office of General Counsel Fair Use Guidelines to find more information about fair use and guidelines on Determining Fair Use and a Fair Use Checklist.
Public performance rights are not required for:
Screening copyrighted media to audiences outside of regular curriculum will require public performance rights. Some examples are:
Albertsons Library does not have public performance rights for any DVD or BluRay films that can be checked out from the library's collection. Streaming films for educational purposes can be requested
Student Involvement and Leadership is a student service at Boise State University that can assist students in obtaining a license for public performance rights through Swank Motion Pictures or Criterion Pictures. Browse the Swank and Criterion catalogs using the links below. When you find a film that you'd like to license, please contact Student Involvement and Leadership at getinvolved@boisestate.edu
You may also reach out to distributors directly to obtain public performance rights, such as:
For other films that may not be available in the Swank or Criterion catalogs, you may contact the producer or distributor directly to request public performance rights.
Fees do vary when obtaining public performance rights. Costs can range from $100 to $1,200 depending on movie selection and the number of attendees. Student Involvement and Leadership will assist students in paying for the cost of public performance rights films and licensing. Follow up with them directly to learn more about the process for selecting a film and licensing. Be sure to plan ahead and give a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks to allow time to execute the license process.
Netflix does have a limited number of resources that can be used for educational screenings only. Please review the Educational screenings of documentaries post to learn more about locating one-time educational films for screenings.
While Albertsons Library does license a few specifically requested films via Kanopy, we do not have access to the entire Kanopy catalog. However, if your public library has a subscription to Kanopy, they do offer some films that include public performance rights. Learn more at Finding Films with public performance rights (PPR) on Kanopy's website.
The copyright on some films has expired and they have moved into the public domain. This means that you do not need to obtain a public performance rights license to show these films. The Library of Congress National Film Registry is a collection of films that are "deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant that are earmarked for preservation by the Library of Congress. Learn more by visiting the National Film Registry collection.
Learn more about notable art, literature, and ideas that are now part of the public domain by visiting The Public Domain Review, an online and not-for-profit journal.