MPLC Sterion Picture Licensing Corporation August 15, 1988 Ms. Sylvia Cohen Director, Quality Life Meridian Health Care 21 West Road Baltimore, MD 21204 Dear Ms. Cohen: It has become apparent that showings of home videocassettes are the most popular fora of entertainment in all kinds of facilities, including long-term care facilities. Some of the finest home video programming is available such as "Singin' in the Rain,' " "Mr. Roberts," "Play Bridge With Omar Sharif," "Born Free," "The Philadelphia Story," and "Tough Guys" but, as we discussed, in order to legally show these and hundreds of other titles Meridian Health Care must be licensed. The Federal Copyright Act has clearly defined public performances of home videocassettes as illegal unless properly licensed. Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (HPLC) has created the Umbrella Licenses for facilities such as yours which require immediate licensing to avoid the liability of penalties and fines of $250 to $5,000 for each unlicensed showing. MPLC's Umbrella License covers you for unlimited legal showings for one year. You are able to continue to acquire your tapes from your favorite local sources including the public library and video store. The Umbrella License is the only license providing your facility with protection from copyright infringement liability and complete programming flexibility! I have enclosed additional information about MPLC and two signed copies of the Umbrella License agreement, with a start date of August 1, 1988. Should you require an invoice, please call us. If you have any questions regarding the agreement, contact James Bouras of our office at (800) 338-3870. We Please sign as indicated and return one fully executed copy to us with payment. will then send you the Certificate of License confiraing your status as an Umbrella Licensee. Should you require additional assistance, please call me at your earliest convenience. The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) is an independent copyright licensing service authorized by major Hollywood motion picture studios to grant Umbrella Licenses to organizations and institutions for certain public performances of home videocassettes and videodiscs. The MPLC was incorporated to address the obvious need to license pre-recorded home Prior to MPLC's inception, public performance licenses for home videocassettes were available Immediately following the U.S. Department of Justice's statement of approval, major Hollywood The MPLC Umbrella LicenseTM provides an organization or institution with copyright infringement liability protection and assures the copyright holder its rights are honored. As a result, an organization has programming flexibility and the convenience of renting or purchasing the desired pre-recorded home video cassettes from a local video retailer, as well as the confidence that it is in compliance with Federal copyright law. With the establishment of the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation, organizations and studios alike have found convenient, affordable and comprehensive copyright licensing from the creator of Umbrella LicensingTM: MPLC. The MPLC Umbrella License The MPLC Umbrella License allows an organization unlimited exhibitions in each of its facilities of all authorized pre-recorded videocassette titles released by MPLC-represented studios for a license period of one year upon the payment of a single annual fee. Previously, if an institution were to legally show videocassettes or videodiscs, public performance licenses were obtained from the copyright holder or distributor on a title-by-title, limited license basis. Now, an institution is no longer required to endure that expensive and time-consuming process. As the representative of major Hollywood motion picture studios, MPLC is authorized to license every one of their home video titles for which they have the performance rights, ranging from time-honored classics to the most recent box office sensations, including new titles as they are released. These titles are available to an organization or institution from any legitimate source, including MPLC in certain limited circumstances, making the Umbrella License a convenient, worry-free approach to public video programming. Our licensing procedure is simple. The organization and MPLC will simply negotiate an annual license fee, specifically tailored to reflect the unique characteristics of the institution and the specific studios and titles available to each organization. Once a license agreement is signed and payment made, an organization immediately becomes an MPLC Licensee - authorized to publicly exhibit home videocassettes! The smallest library to the largest multi-national corporation is covered with the Umbrella License. As the most cost-efficient exhibition license available in the United States, the Umbrella License provides an organization or institution with unlimited public performances for virtually all its video programming needs at a reasonable price. It's that simple! Copyright ©1987 Motion Picture Licensing Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Copyright Law By law, as well as by intent, the pre-recorded videocassettes (and videodiscs) which are available in stores throughout the United States are for home use only license to show them elsewhere. unless you have a Rentals or purchases of home video cassettes do not carry with them licenses for non-home showings. Before you can legally engage in non-home showings, you must have a separate license which specifically authorizes them. These simple, straightforward rules are embodied in the Federal Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17 of the United States Code. Any institution, organization, company or individual wishing to engage in non-home showings of home videocassettes should be aware of the Copyright Act's provisions governing showings of video materials, which are highlighted below. • The Copyright Act grants to the copyright owner the exclusive right, among others, "to perform the copyrighted work publicly" (Section 106). • The rental or purchase of a home videocassette does not carry with it the right "to perform the copyrighted work publicly" (Section 202). • Home videocassettes may be shown, without a license, in the home to "a normal circle of family and its social acquaintances" (Section 101) because such showings are not "public.” • Home videocassettes may also be shown, without a license, in certain narrowly defined "face-to-face teaching activities" (Section 110.1) because the law makes a specific, limited exception for such showings. There are no other exceptions. • All other showings of home videocassettes are illegal unless they have been authorized by license. Even "performances in 'semipublic' places such as clubs, lodges, factories, summer camps and schools are 'public performances' subject to copyright control" (Senate Report No. 94-473, page 60; House Report No. 94-1476, page 64). ⚫ Institutions, organizations, companies or individuals wishing to engage in non-home showings of home video cassettes must secure licenses to do so regardless of whether an admission or other fee is charged (Section 501). This legal requirement applies equally to profit-making organizations and nonprofit institutions (Senate Report No. 94-473, page 59; House Report No. 94-1476, page 62). Showings of home videocassettes without a license, when one is required, are an infringement of copyright. If done "willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain," they are a Federal crime (Section 506). In addition, even innocent or inadvertent infringers are subject to substantial civil damages (at least $250 for each illegal showing) and other penalties (Sections 501-505). The Exhibition - Questions and Answers All types of organizations and institutions require licensing to exhibit home videocassettes and While each of these organizations are unique in their respective ways, they share common issues related to exhibiting pre-recorded home videocassettes or videodiscs. Below are some frequently asked questions about public exhibitions. Q. We are a nonprofit organization. Do we need to be licensed to show pre-recorded videocassettes? A. Yes. Under the law, it does not matter if you are a profit-making or nonprofit organization. Q. We own the pre-recorded home videocassettes we would like to exhibit. Are we required to have a public performance license to show them? A. Yes. The mere purchase or rental of a pre-recorded home videocassette does not carry with it the right to exhibit. You are required to have a public performance license. Q. We would like to show videos to our patients and their invited guests in the nursing home. Do we need a public performance license? A. Yes. You are required to have a public performance license to exhibit to patients as well as their guests. Q. We will not be charging admission when we exhibit a video. Do we need a license? Q. Our company would like to exhibit videos for our employees to watch during their lunch hours. Do we need a license? A. Yes. Any exhibition of a home videocassette outside the home with family and friends Q. We would like to publicize that we will be showing a video. What methods may we use to do so? A. You may announce your video showings in your organization's newsletters, bulletin boards Q. How much does an Umbrella LicenseTM cost? A. MPLC will negotiate with you a reasonably priced license fee well within your organization's means based on the nature and size of the audience and the anticipated Copyright ©1987 Motion Picture Licensing Corporation. All Rights Reserved. |