Student Handbook
Film Policy
The John Brown University community agrees to honor and obey copyright laws as a Christian institution. Generally, films shown in public settings must be legally obtained and used under the guidelines established by the copyright laws.
Films in dorm rooms: Students are permitted to show films without public performance rights if the movie is shown to a small group of friends within their “home.” For JBU students, this means their dorm room and some dorm lobby areas if it is an impromptu, non-JBU sponsored gathering without publicity or a general invitation.
Films in public settings must be legally obtained and used under the guidelines established by the copyright laws. They are subject to the following guidelines:
- The federal Copyright Law makes it unlawful to show a JBU-sponsored film in a public space without the expressed and written permission from the copyright holder or without purchasing a public performance license.
- Public space at JBU is any place on campus except the individual dorm room assigned to a specific student or students. In some situations, the dorm lounge space closest to the student’s room may also be considered personal space.
- Meetings of JBU-sponsored clubs, organizations and housing units are considered public spaces and, therefore, must have explicit permission from the copyright holder or a public performance license to show a film.
Exceptions for educational purposes: Film copyright laws recognize exceptions for educational purposes if the film is shown in the course of teaching activities of a nonprofit education institution. John Brown University is a nonprofit educational institution, and therefore a film showing is most likely to fit within the educational exception if:
- The showing is in a classroom or similar location for instruction.
- The showing is part of an educational activity and is accompanied by a related discussion forum.
- For more information see: Section 110(1) of the Copyright law.