Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Parents at a California elementary school are voicing their frustration with Disney after a school fundraising event resulted in a hefty fine.
The controversy started when the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley, Calif., showed the 2019 remake of "The Lion King" during a "parent’s night out" event last year, CNN reported.
Five months later, the organization received a message from Swank Movie Licensing USA, which manages Disney’s copyright claims. The group told parents they owed $250 for screening the film "without the proper license."
Disney's not running a charity, and they'll enforce their rights to the fullest extent of the law. They also lobby hard to keep their intellectual property from entering the public domain.
While 250 is hardly an absurd amount, when you fine schools for showing disney films it seems like disney is being a little crazy. Yes its their property but unless the school profited from the movie itself i dont see how disney can justify it. They showed it at a fundraiser but it wasnt a direct profit from the movie. Schools need money. Also i know that ignorance of the law is not an excuse most of the time, when you accidently break the law because its an obscure rule you dont know about then you shouldnt be fined, they should have sent a cease and desist that said the rules and moved on.
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 11 days ago)
35,637 posts, read 17,989,189 times
Reputation: 50679
Quote:
Originally Posted by LO28SWM
While 250 is hardly an absurd amount, when you fine schools for showing disney films it seems like disney is being a little crazy. Yes its their property but unless the school profited from the movie itself i dont see how disney can justify it. They showed it at a fundraiser but it wasnt a direct profit from the movie. Schools need money. Also i know that ignorance of the law is not an excuse most of the time, when you accidently break the law because its an obscure rule you dont know about then you shouldnt be fined, they should have sent a cease and desist that said the rules and moved on.
Do you think showing the Lion King remake wasn't the actual point of the Parents Night Out?
I didn't see any advertisements associated with this event, but my guess is it wasn't just advertised as a drop off for kids and then unbeknownst to the parents they showed this movie.
You can't charge admission to show a copyrighted movie, without license to do so. And that's exactly what they did.
My guess is this $250 isn't a fine, but rather, the price Disney charges to license this movie for events exactly like this one. Had they not charged money to view it, there would have been no problem. Had they asked for permission, they would have been told the price is $250 but maybe by asking they could have begged the fee down to 100 bucks or so. Who knows.
Does anyone remember the FBI warnings that used to be at the beginning of every movie? They probably stopped including them because they knew most people ignored it or fast forwarded (or maybe they're still there and I just haven't noticed because I don't use physical media anymore?). But if the warning is gone, that doesn't mean that the laws changed or went away. They should consider themselves fortunate that the fine was so low. It could have been much much worse
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 11 days ago)
35,637 posts, read 17,989,189 times
Reputation: 50679
Quote:
Originally Posted by hertfordshire
Copyright is not an obscure rule.
Does anyone remember the FBI warnings that used to be at the beginning of every movie? They probably stopped including them because they knew most people ignored it or fast forwarded. But that doesn't mean that the laws changed or went away. They should consider themselves fortunate that the fine was so low. It could have been much much worse
This is crazy. How did Disney find out about it? A parent must have called them. Who would do such a thing?
The PTA was wrong. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. But come on. Disney has nothing better to do than to hassle a PTA for $250?
Yes, Disney has the law on their side, but it's not like the PTA showed the movie before it came out in theaters. The movie is appropriate for children.
I hope the PTA just pays the fine because they're screwed if they fight this.
But that being said, I give a big Bronx cheer to Disney. Also to the whistle blower who had nothing more constructive to do than notify Disney of the "huge offense".
Just another work that Disney stole from others, then re-copyrighted as their own. Then they take legal action to shake down PTAs, nursing homes, schools, or anybody else they find watching the movie. That is the way Disney has built their empire over the last 100 years.
That said, I'm not sure why the PTA is so upset. They still made money off of it.
This is crazy. How did Disney find out about it? A parent must have called them. Who would do such a thing?
They probably have a whole team in their legal department that does nothing but search social media for usage of their copyrighted materials.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Javacoffee
The PTA was wrong. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. But come on. Disney has nothing better to do than to hassle a PTA for $250?
They have every right to protect their copyright as they see fit. Where do you draw the line?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Javacoffee
Yes, Disney has the law on their side, but it's not like the PTA showed the movie before it came out in theaters. The movie is appropriate for children.
Irrelevant argument. It's still copyright infringement
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
