What are public performance rights? How can I find out if a library DVD has public performance rights?
Answer
A "public performance" is any performance of a film which occurs outside of the home, or at any place where people are gathered who are not family members. In most cases titles sold by video and retail outlets are restricted to home use only and do not include public performance rights.
The films's media producer or distributor normally manages performance rights and the rights-holder can assign PPR to others through a Public Performance License. PPR are required for all screenings of copyrighted media to audiences outside of regular curriculum, i.e. student club events, department sponsored lectures and film series.
PPR are not required for home viewing and screening media in the context of face-to-face teaching in the classroom.
Showing media, whether borrowed from the library or rented/purchased, to groups outside of the classroom may be illegal, and may place the College at risk legally.
The IC Library does not necessarily purchase media with Public Performance Rights, since many of our acquisitions support the curriculum and are used in face-to-face teaching, which is exempt from PPR. However, many distributors of our educational films include PPR in the purchase price.
If performance rights are available, they will be listed in the Performance Rights field in the Details section of the item record in the online catalog.
See this help page to find information about public performance rights for items on the Kanopy platform: https://help.kanopy.com/en-us/4141.htm