The MPAA threatens Swarthmore?
The MPAA has threatened all student groups and individuals at Swarthmore who show films in such a way that it meets their definition of a “public performance.” I talked a bit about this issue in one of my old Phoenix columns: How the law makes us all criminals.
Some preliminary comments, which may turn into an angry op-ed at some point:
* Do these showings hurt anyone? Really now, isn’t it equally plausible that showing these movies increases demand and makes people more likely to buy personal copies, or to promote the movies to their friends?
* Do the statutory damages in the law make any sense? The MPAA’s nastygram says “Even inadvertent [copyright] infringers are subject to substantial civil damages, ranging from $500 to $20,000 for each illegal showing.” The numbers I’m familiar with are “from as “low” as $750, for a single infringement, to as much as $150,000 per infringement, all depending on the judge’s discretion.” Either way, is that a reasonable punishment for an act which may not hurt anyone, and may even benefit the copyright holder? Free promotion using legally purchased videos can’t be that bad.
* We have to ask permission every time we show a movie? How much red tape do we have to suffer through? This reminds me of the copyright clearance house for educational course packets, which drive prices up to as much as $500 per course packet at other colleges. Fortunately professors here tend to use e-reserves and Blackboard, although the publishing industry is trying to stop that practice as well.
* How many of our rights will be taken away so that they can be repackaged and sold back to us? I think that when the movie industry tries to illegalize fast-forwarding, they’ve lost all credibility. It’s a neat trick that the content industry has been using: rewrite the laws so that uses we take for granted become illegal, and then try to charge people extra for doing what they’ve always done. I say it’s time they got a bit of their own medicine.
Possible responses:
- show movies not covered by the MPAA / Swank (i.e. indie movies)… has anyone seen Star Wars Revelations yet? It’s better than anything Lucas has done recently 
- show movies in people’s dorm rooms
- make our own movies instead (who needs a Hollywood budget? Students at Swarthmore are creative)
January 17th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
It’s not immediately obvious to me that showing movies in dorm rooms would actually get around the legal issues; I know Jenny’s email indicated that showing a movie at home doesn’t constitute a public viewing, but is that the case even if the event is advertised and open beyond direct, personal invitations? (And for that matter, what about ‘private’ showings in public areas? I’ve reserved SCI101 and watched movies there with two or three friends, without publicizing it, several times; is that a public viewing or a private one?