Public Performance Rights (PPR)

According to U.S. copyright law (Title 17, United States Code, Section 110), a public performance is any screening of a videocassette, DVD, videodisc or film which occurs outside of the home, or at any place where people are gathered who are not family members, such as in a school, library, auditorium, classroom or meeting room. A Public Performance Rights (PPR) License grants institutions the ability to screen the film or films covered by the license to the public or share with people and events outside of an institution’s network.

PPR license is required for:

• Community screening
• Student club events
• Film series with the public 

The MCC Library does not have funding for PPR licenses; however, we do subscribe to some streaming film databases with available PPR rights.  Start with these to save your club or department unnecessary expenses.  Should you choose to pursue a film for public screening (club event, film series, etc.), please secure your own funding to acquire the PPR. 

Academic Video Online (Alexander Street)

• Most films*, whether streaming or DVD, include limited PPR. Permission is granted for classroom showings, as well as public screenings, as long as no admission is being charged.
• *Film Platform and National Theatre titles are excluded.

Docuseek Streaming

• Institutional Streaming Licenses permit screening... to a group only when:
  • No admission is charged
  • No advertising outside the learning community (see section 2f).
• Sharing of streamed Docuseek2 content with other institutions, or with individuals, classes or groups who are not Authorized Users, except as noted above, is not permitted without the express authorization of Docuseek2 (see section 2i).

Feature Films for Education (Infobase)

• Titles include PPR as long as no admissions are charged. 

Film Platform (Alexander Street)

• Public Performance Rights (PPR) are not included. Option to acquire PPR separately at a cost of about $350 or more depending on the title.
• Film screening request form

Films on Demand (Infobase)

• All titles include PPR

Kanopy

Locate the "PPR" icon next to the running time on the details page.

Option 2: Apply the "Public Performance" filter to search results. Scroll to the bottom of the filters and toggle "Public performance rights available" on.

(Toggle will not appear if search results contain no films with PPR.)

See Finding Films with PPR

Kino Lorber titles within Kanopy do not have PPR (unless otherwise specified).  One time screening fee is $250 (as of October 2023).  DVDs and Digital Format purchased directly from Kino Lorber can include PPR.  

SWANK Streaming Video Library

• Permission is required and associated costs apply.  Public performance licensing costs depends on variables.
• For further details, please contact library@miracosta.edu with the title of the film(s) and the nature of the proposed showing. 

Motion Pictures Licensing Corporation (MPLC)

• The MCC Library also subscribes to an annual MPLC license that provides an umbrella PPR for films found under this Producer List.

• You may promote screenings inside MiraCosta, for example, on flyers inside the building or through direct correspondence such as an email or letter. When promoting screenings in this manner, you may include the title, character names or rights holder name. When promoting exhibitions to the general public, limitations apply. For example, if you promote exhibitions on a website, on a social media account, or via any publicly accessible means (e.g. newspapers, billboards), you cannot use the title, character names, or rights holder name. However, it is OK to provide this information in response to a call, text, or email.

• Streaming access / accounts or DVD’s do not need to be owned by the college, as long as it is a legal source you are able to utilize them. Again, this only applies to films found under the producer list linked above. 

• For multiple producers, look for Distributors for US theatrical.

Amazon Prime Videos

• Public screenings of original content are not allowed. The terms of use for Amazon Prime Video state that content can only be accessed for personal, non-commercial, and private use.
• Streaming Amazon content in a classroom setting is a violation of licensing terms. 

Hulu

• Terms of use grant “… non-exclusive limited license to use the Services, including accessing and viewing the Content on a streaming-only basis through the Video Player, for personal, non-commercial purposes…” (see 3.2).
• Public screening of original content are not permitted. 

Netflix

• Some Netflix original educational documentaries are available for one-time educational screenings (terms).
• Titles available for educational screenings: Visit media.netflix.com and search for the title or browse our recent and upcoming releases.
• Titles will display either the following Grant of Permission or an Educational Screenings Permission (ESP) on their details page.

Vimeo

• Terms of Service do not include statements that broadly prohibit public screening. 
• Videos licensed under Creative Commons would be able to be screened publicly. 

YouTube

• The following restrictions apply to your use of the Service. You are not allowed to:
  • access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders;
  • use the Service to view or listen to Content other than for personal, non-commercial use (for example, you may not publicly screen videos or stream music from the Service)

Please note that the above information is for reference purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. This guide is a springboard for your research, but the information included here is not exhaustive. The Library cannot provide legal advice on particular copyright issues, which means that the Library cannot advise you on the substance or interpretation of the law as it relates to a specific situation.

If you have questions, please contact library@miracosta.edu.