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BY MARA REVKIN

In print | January 26, 2006

In light of recent warnings from the Motion Picture Association of America and Swank Motion Pictures, student organizations are taking heightened precautions to protect against copyright infringement penalties when showing movies to groups.

According to Associate Dean Myrt Westphal, the MPAA, along with Swank Motion Pictures, the major distributor of copyright licenses for the viewing of films in public venues, has contacted Swarthmore in recent months to clarify copyright infringement laws. Currently, the college risks violating copyright laws if student groups continue to show films in public places such as Kohlberg Hall and the Science Center.

“When groups announce a set of films that they’re showing, they are supposed to be paying a fee to the distributors for the use of that film,” Westphal said.

Westphal also added that the MPAA may have ascertained through the college web site that student groups were showing films for which they had not purchased licenses. “The MPAA has been in touch several times to remind us of our obligation to abide by copyright law,” she said.

Jillian Waldman ’06, a former president of SWIL, said that the organization and many others on campus regularly show films for which they have not obtained official copyright licenses. These groups provide free entertainment for students at the expense of copyright holders, who would prefer to receive royalties for every public viewing of a feature film.

Some groups might be receptive to the possibility of paying fees for the privilege of showing movies as long as they are reasonable, Waldman said. “The extent to which students take the warning seriously will depend on how easy it is to fix the problem,” she said. “Obviously, no one wants the college to get sued over this. But if we’re going to have to pay $200 every time we want to show a film for fewer than 15 people, then I think that would be a little bit ridiculous.”

Earlier this semester, Student Activities Coordinator Jenny Yim circulated an e-mail to RAs and leaders of student groups clarifying copyright laws when showing movies on campus. “If your student organization wishes to watch a movie together as a group of friends in your dorm room, that qualifies as a home viewing,” Yim said in an e-mail. “However, if you wish to watch the same movie in the Science Center or Kohlberg and are going to advertise to others on campus, then that qualifies as a public performance and requires a special license.”

Yim said in an interview that Swarthmore administrators want to ensure that students are in compliance with the law when showing movies on campus. “It is our responsibility as an institution to inform our students of copyright law,” she said.

Under federal law, “willful” infringement of copyright for commercial or financial gain constitutes a federal crime and is punishable as a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail and/or a $100,000 fine. Even inadvertent infringers are subject to fines ranging from $500 to $20,000 for each illegal showing.

According to Yim, Swarthmore’s Movie Committee already adheres to copyright policy and is endowed with “a healthy budget” for the purchase of licenses from Swank Motion Pictures. However, these licenses are acquired at considerable cost, and many other student groups do not have budgets large enough to accommodate additional copyright fees.

“We want to get everyone in a position where they can show films,” Westphal said. “However, if we can’t get blanket coverage, some of the smaller groups may not have sufficient funding to do this.”

According to Student Budget Manager Greg Leiserson, the Student Budget Committee has temporarily halted movie funding for a number of student groups. The freeze will not affect the Movie Committee, which is already licensed for weekly screenings of feature films. “SBC has enacted a temporary freeze on the movie funding of all groups for which we have questions or concerns about the legal status of the screenings. SBC is actively examining alternatives to our current system of movie funding,” said Leiserson.

Some students have raised objections to the possible imposition of licensing fees. “Student groups are frustrated because it feels as if their ability to show films is being restricted,” Waldman said.

Nelson Pavlosky ’06, co-founder of Free Culture Swarthmore, will meet with student groups later this week to field concerns and to discuss a possible course of action. “I disagree that student groups should have to pay these fees, but I want to be more informed about my disagreement,” Pavlosky said.

Pavlosky, who in 2003 successfully sued Diebold for invoking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in order to withhold embarrassing corporate memos from the Internet, is currently investigating the legal ramifications that student groups will risk incurring if they do not yield to MPAA copyright policy. “I don’t think the MPAA’s characterization of the law is necessarily the correct one,” he said.

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