Is sharing a movie copyright infringement?

[Miesha]

I want to show a movie at my college but I've been hearing that it's copyright infringement. I know I can't say the name of the movie in flyers on on Facebook, but if I just surprise people with it, am I still doing wrong?

Is using HULU copyright infringement? If I use a DVD that I own (I paid for it) would that be bad too?

[Kojak]

If you benefit /profit from the showing.....YES.....it is copyright infringement

If you own the film or rent it and show it for "free".... no personal gain.....NO infringement

FRIED KITTEN..... BS..... The difference in the examples you gave.....showing a film at place of business.....such as a school.....is "making a profit"..... it can be argued you are making attending that school more attractive....ergo increasing tuition profits (non-public schools are "businesses")

you can show a film / DVD to as many people as you want as long as you do not "profit"......a copyright infringement lawsuit for showing a film or DVD to a bunch of friends...... would be thrown out of court..... wont happen

As to HULU.....if anyone would be arrested / sued.....it would be the HULU people....NOT the viewers
there is no law against YOU watching or owning pirated DVDs or films.....ONLY on profiting from them

BCNU..... Please site one incident where ANYONE who possessed or showed a bootlegged copy of anything was prosecuted..... they prosecute DEALERS....and those using bootleg copies for financial gain (direct or indirect)..... Unless I foolishly acknowledged "knowing" something was a bootleg they would have a hard time proving I "knew" it was a bootleg copy...... possession of "stolen goods" would be an impossible charge to sustain in court..... it would be a Pryyric victory for the government to even attempt to pursue that course legally..... I an half the other people in my little community have dozens of pirated DVDS on my shelf..... If the mere possession of a pirated DVD were a crime.....half my community would be in jail....... Pirated DVDs are sold daily by street vendors..... none of them go to jail..... I have seen authorities confiscate entire flea market stores...... but no customer was ever arrested or charged..... not practical

EDIT..... There is a nuance here you fail to appreciate..... something may be against the law.....BUT if the law is not enforced...... in effect .... it is not against the law
In my city it is against the law to pee in public..... but everybody pees in public.....I have even seen police officers peeing in public..... so in effect.....there is no crime if you are not punished

You were disingenuous.... the people sued were conducting wide distribution of copyrighted material to EVERYONE..... not just to family members or close friends..... they were distributing copyright material as party favors to "new" friends..... in effect they were networking and "profiting" ...they got free copyrighted material in exchange..... they PROFITED

I never said you could not be prosecuted.....I said they wont bother..... it is an action that will cost more than it is worth...... I can draw a picture of "Mickey Mouse" and put it on my wall....technically that is copyright infringement.... BUT no one will take me to court.....BUT if I use that drawing to convert my home into a day care center.....use that image to get business.....Disney will shut me down..... THEY HAVE TO...... the same reason you will never read in a book where a character uses a kleenex to wipe his nose..... it is always a "facial tissue"..... I can use the word kleenex all I want without fear..... but make a profit from it..... and you very probably will be sued

[bookish]

As long as you're not making money from it, you're fine.

[Fried Kitten]

APPROACH WITH CAUTION

If the film has been copyrighted and you show it to others [broadcast it]
without permission from the copyright holder then you are breaking the
law while conducting an ‘unauthorized broadcast’.

It is irrelevant if you do or do not profit.

With that being said, it is unlikely that anybody shall sue you if, indeed,
you are not making a profit.

You are not even allowed to have others over to your home to watch a
DVD that you bought. This is also an unauthorized broadcast.

You may make a copy of a DVD that you bought and you can watch it
yourself at multiple locations.

I know that all of this sounds ridiculous because nobody is ever
prosecuted for these (minor) violations.

If you are a teacher in a college and you are planning on projecting
this movie on school grounds you may want to think twice. You are
now representing an institution. If the copyright holder comes after
that institution then the head of that institution (the college) is going
to be pretty mad at you.

(Call the US Copyright Office.)


-- ADDITIONAL DETAILS --


KOJAK,
As BCNU pointed out to you, the issue of profit is irrelevant.

As I pointed out, and as you ignored, it is indeed unlikely that
people would be prosecuted for these offenses. This reality
does not, nonetheless, legalize otherwise illegal activities.

When you file-share a copy of copyrighted material, without
having first obtained permission from the copyright holder,
you can be charged with copyright infringement, period. (This
is the same as “playing your DVD for your friends”.) [BCNU]

The RIAA sued many individuals (not commercial entities) for
uploading and for downloading without permission from the
copyright holder. (Uploading for no profit is the same as
“playing your DVD for your friends”.) While most of these
cases were settled (around 2007) out of court for $3000 per
individual some cases went to trial and the fines amounted
to ridiculously high awards to the RIAA in the tune of a few
hundred thousand dollars. Ultimately, the individuals declared
bankruptcy and the RIAA didn’t collect.

The RIAA has mostly given up on pursuing such cases though
they are back in the ring with SOPA.


BCNU,
Your posting poses a dichotomy.

You declare that one can broadcast a copyrighted movie in an
educational setting.

You continue further down to declare that one can not broadcast
[in an educational setting?] a copyrighted movie from HULU.

So what is the difference between a copyrighted DVD and a
copyrighted movie on HULU?

The copyright holder loses his rights because he wasn’t picked
up by HULU?


MIESHA,
Like I said, contact the US Copyright Office.
You can do so anonymously.


-- ADDITIONAL DETAILS (2) --

KOJAK
It is incredible how much space you feel justified in wasting by repeating the same thing over and over even while we have all agreed upon it which is that, infringement usually isn’t prosecuted because it isn’t cost-effective to do so when profit is a non-factor. Congratulations for being verbose.

As to your creative writing, they weren’t convicted for any conspiracy or under RICO or anything that complicated. Just being a bit creative myself here if you don’t mind. They were not prosecuted for ‘networking & profiting’. They were prosecuted for unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material. Additionally for the downloading of copyrighted material. You are trying to frame it as if an attorney convinced a judge that by uploading they entered into an implied contract to download for free which could constitute profiteering. This was never the argument.

And you shouldn’t be suggesting to the asker that he/she is free and clear. The RIAA may decide to go after an institution just to set an example. If the asker is a teacher he/she may run into problems with his/her employer.

[bcnu]

Kojak's answer is partly correct, partly not so much...

Showing a DVD to "Friends" is considered a "private display" and is not a copyright infringement, assuming you are showing an authorized copy. It is completely legal to invite them over to your house to watch, or even to loan them the DVD to watch. Nobody gets sued for watching DVDs in private.

More to the point: Any copyrighted movie can be shown at a non-profit school for "educational purposes", in a classroom, or similar teaching setting, under supervision of a teacher, and it is not copyright infringement. 17 USC § 110. It is a statutory exemption, assuming it is an authorized copy. Period.

Copyright infringement has NOTHING to do with "making money on it". You're either violating their rights or you're not. Whether you make a profit is a different question, related to damages and how much prison time you may be facing.

You can be sued for statutory damages, even if you never made a dime on your infringement, and even if the original production was also worthless. Statutory damages can go as high as $150,000 for one film or song that is reproduced and distributed without license.

Of course, you need to do your own legal research and discuss your plans with the faculty who will be supervising your proposed display of the movie for class.

Yes, using HULU or any other website would be copyright infringement if you do not have a written license to reproduce, publish, distribute, and publicly display and perform copies of the copyrighted work.

Yes, being in possession of pirated DVDs is, in fact, illegal. It would be like "possession of stolen goods"; if they can prove you knew they were pirated, you could be fined and the DVDs confiscated. This usually only get prosecuted if you're also caught "dealing" in hundreds of counterfeit recordings, or if you are in possession of counterfeit trademarks intended for marking goods for distribution.

Under the US copyright law, however, "As part of a final judgment or decree [of copyright infringement], the court may order the destruction or other reasonable disposition of all copies or phonorecords found to have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights...". If Congress had wanted to limit seizure and destruction to only the illegal copies in possession of the actual infringer, it would have said so. 17 USC § 503.