gingertom Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 Dear all, I hope this isn't wandering too far out of the realms of backstage.......? With it being a Saturday no official licensing persons are in their offices so I am hoping one of you terribly omnipotent ladies or gents may be able to shed some light on a query..... The scenario is such............ 500 seat auditorium, screen, projector and an account with a film distribution company. All good, except that the films have not appeared. Senior management have sanctioned a trip to the local video shop to gain the equivalent films. Obviously this bypasses paying the correct fee for licensing etc. I have an email from said management saying that they take responsibility, but my question is this:If the films are shown on a system that was put into place by me, and its me physically hitting the play button, who is breaching the licensing laws? Is it the management for supplying a non appropriately licensed DVD, or me for allowing it to happen an actually being the person who operates the playback equipment? Many thanks in advance for any answers, and I hope this rather rushed post makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew.Steve Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 *IF* it is the case that the film to be shown is the one that was booked (but just a different copy of it), *AND* the appropriate licence was granted, *AND* the appropriate fee was/will be paid, then I can't see that any party has an interest in pursuing the matter. I had a similar situation with Microsoft some years ago where (for technical reasons) I was obliged to supply cloned copies of their operating system rather than new packages. The situation was well documented, all parties were kept informed, full records were kept and all fees due to Microsoft were paid. Legal advice at the time was as given above, ie: If there are no injured parties, then the nature of the 'variation' in normal procedures is not significant. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingertom Posted January 13, 2007 Author Share Posted January 13, 2007 Many thanks for your reply. The issue that I'm having is that the license is granted as part of the fee paid to the film distributor. If the films don't appear today, and those above me go to our local domestic supplier, then no money will be paid to the distributor...... I suppose my *selfish* concern is that in this situation who is going to get their derrier paddled? Is it me for being the person that actually shows the film, or the management for supplying me with an unlicensed copy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 It will be the venue that is in trouble and/or the person named on the film distributors account. Any infingment is a civil matter, not criminal, and they will always go for the people with the deepest pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henny Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 I had a similour problem a few years ago where they sent the 16mm cini vershion rather than the dvd , so we just went to whsmiths to get the dvd , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 The issue that I'm having is that the license is granted as part of the fee paid to the film distributor. If the films don't appear today, and those above me go to our local domestic supplier, then no money will be paid to the distributor...... There's the problem then. The question is does your "local supplier" have the ability to sell you rights to publicly show a movie? If not, there's a gap in the chain. And when you say "film", I assume you mean a "film", something 16mm or 35mm (or if the punters are really lucky, 70mm) across that clatters through a machine. If your audience are expecting to see a film, and they get a DVD, they may be very disappointed. Or they may be philistines, and thus not be disappointed a jot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben... Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 *IF* it is the case that the film to be shown is the one that was booked (but just a different copy of it), *AND* the appropriate licence was granted, *AND* the appropriate fee was/will be paid, then I can't see that any party has an interest in pursuing the matter.Not entirely true; rights are granted for showing films from a specific medium. Sometimes (I believe this often happens with the BFI) a body will only be able to give permission to show a certain version of a film; so they might only be able to permit you to show a VHS copy or a 16mm print (this might be because each version is subtly different, and so has a seperate copyright. I'm not a lawyer :P ) If you then show a DVD or 35mm print, then legally speaking someone else should get the money; if there were a significant number of showings involved, then the offended party has an interest in pursuing the money. (Unlike the software case, where all the cards are in Microsoft's hand.) That said of course it happens all the time, and mostly people get away with it, but keep quiet about it, and make sure you don't show the big "Not for public exhibition" screens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingertom Posted January 16, 2007 Author Share Posted January 16, 2007 Well as it panned out, 2 films were shown. Both from a local film distributor (3l0ckbu5ter). As I gather information from your learned selves, and from other contacts, it would appear that my personal arse is safe. Although I am unyet sure of the sphincter diameter of the licensee. If there is any info I will keep you informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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