Public Performance Rights for Film Screening
What are Public Performance Rights?
Public Performance Rights (PPR) are the legal rights to publicly show a film or video (media). Normally the media producer or distributor manages these rights. The rights-holder can assign PPR to others through a Public Performance License.
Public Performance Rights are NOT needed for
- Home use, i.e. privately viewing the film in your room with friends.
- Classroom use, i.e. screening films in the context of face-to-face teaching in the service of regular curricula to members of the class. Explicitly allowed by Section 110 of Copyright Law, Title 17 of the United States Code. Any legally obtained videorecording (purchased or borrowed from library or rented from a video store) may be used in the classroom.
Public Performance Rights are needed if the screening is open to an audience outside of regular curriculum.
- Student club events, such as showing a foreign-language film to the community for cultural enrichment
- Extracurricular sponsored events, such as a general lecture where everyone is invited
- Film series, i.e. if persons attending are outside the normal circle of family and acquaintances, such as showing a film to a club or organization, or showing a film for class but inviting others to attend.
- Showing media, whether borrowed from the library or rented / purchased, to groups outside of the classroom may be illegal, and may place the University at risk legally.
Does Memorial Library purchase videos with Public Performance Rights?
Since the Library acquires media to support the curriculum, and face-to-face teaching is exempt from PPR, the Library does not typically secure PPR with video purchases. However, many distributors of educational videos include PPR in the purchase price, which means these videos can be shown outside the classroom.
Hollywood films are NOT available for purchase with PPR. They must be rented from companies that license PPR. A typical fee is $300. See below for licensing companies.
How can you tell if a video from Memorial Library has Public Performance Rights?
Videos in the Library collection with PPR include a searchable note in the catalog record of “Includes Public Performance Rights.”
Films available within the Kanopy and Docuseek streaming video services may include PPR.
PPR does not transfer to other organizations. Library DVDs with PPR can only be screening publicly by persons associated with Minnesota State University Mankato.
To confirm whether a Library DVD includes PPR or to request a purchase of a PPR copy, contact Media Services Librarian Barb Bergman barbara.bergman@mnsu.edu 507-389-5945.
Some companies that license PPR:
