Suffolk Digital Cinema Network

A Screen Near You in Suffolk

Copyright

The general rule of thumb is that you cannot screen in public DVDs or videos that you have simply bought or rented from a shop. In most cases, you will need to obtain an appropriate licence from copyright holders or their agents (such as Filmbank, the British Film Institute and others, as described elsewhere on this site).

When you rent a film from an authorized distributor what you are paying for is a licence to screen the film in public. When using the Network's equipment, you must either screen material under licence from an authorized distributor or - in the case, for example, of work by local independent film-makers - with the express consent of relevant copyright holders.

The only exceptions to this - applicable only in fairly restricted circumstances - are if you are operating under the terms of an Umbrella Licence (from the Motion Picture Licensing Company - see below) or Filmbank's new Public Video Screening Licence (see Filmbank's website).

You may also need a licence from the Performing Rights Society (PRS, which pays royalties to the composers of music on film soundtracks) unless your venue is already covered by an appropriate PRS licence (such as that available to village halls and similar community centres)

Performing Rights Society Web site

Motion Picture Licensing Company

If you: represent a bona fide club or society for children of school age; want to screen films only to children who are members of your group; do not make any charge for your screenings to these children; do not advertize specific film titles in any way outside your membership

You may be able to obtain an Umbrella Licence™ from the Motion Picture Licensing Company (MPLC). The MPLC represents over 50 studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone and Buena Vista. If you hold this licence, you can screen most films from these studios using any legal copy of the film in question (such as DVDs you have at home, or have rented from a local shop or library). There is no reporting or title-by-title administration involved. Better still, you can obtain an annual licence for only two pounds + VAT per child per venue. So if you run a youth club that has 50 members, you could run any number of screenings for only one hundred pounds per year + VAT.

Bear in mind that this licence is only available if you meet the criteria set out above. MPLC is currently negotiating to extend the scope of the licence to cover groups such as senior citizens' clubs, but at the moment it only applies to groups for children. To check whether your screenings might be eligible for this licence, contact MPLC's licensing director, Gill Morris.

MPLC Web site