Quote:
Originally posted by SeanL
It's not clearly laid out, but when they speak of public exhibition, it usually means paid exhibition.
If I opened up my house to people, and charged them to see Lord of the Rings in my home theater, that would be illegal. But if I ran, say a pizza joint, and I had Harry Potter playing for the kids(but it not be advertised in any way), while they eat their pizza then that's ok.
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Actually, money is only one factor and it's certainly not the make-or-break one. Remember Napster? People said all the time that sharing files was OK because it was free. Not true.
Under the law, the key to the private/public distinction is the relationship between the parties. Friends, family, people who are close to one another in some way, that's a private exhibition. But if the movie is shown to a group of people who don't have intimate relationships with each other, then it's public.
The MPAA would shut down your pizza joint in a second. Doesn't matter that you don't charge for the movie or that you don't use it as an advertisement. You'd get in trouble for simply showing it to the public-at-large. Now, if all the kids were your grandchildren, nephews and nieces, you'd be fine. Same goes for the home screening: if it was limited to your friends and family, you'd be OK. You'd probably be fine EVEN IF YOU CHARGED. I say probably because the fee would make a court wonder how close you really are to the folks you're hitting up for cash. But if you can show that everyone is a lifelong friend or family member, a judge is likely to let it pass.
Different story if your screening was open to anyone who showed up at your door. Then, even showing the movie for free would get you in trouble.