Faculty and Staff Resources

Showing films in the Classroom

In 2002, the United States Congress passed the TEACH Act to clarify some of the copyright issues created by the advent of digital media. While educators welcomed these clarifications, copyright and fair use remains a complicated part of academic life. For more information check out the ALA Guide to the TEACH Act.

"Copyright law provides educators with a separate set of rights in addition to fair use, to display (show) and perform (show or play) others' works in the classroom. These rights are in Section 110(1) of the Copyright Act and apply to any work, regardless of the medium." - from the University of Texas Libraries' copyright guide.

Faculty are permitted to show feature length films in the classroom.

Showing Films in an Online Class:

Unfortunately, the TEACH Act is more restrictive when it comes to showing films in distance education, either over zoom or another platform. 

"17 U.S.C. § 110(1) permits “the performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction....” It applies to showing of entire films, and also to those that involve less extensive clips from one or several sources.

This provision contains several noteworthy limitations. First, it applies only to face-to-face teaching activities, not distance education. The exceptions that apply to distance education are found in the TEACH Act, 17 U.S.C. § 110(2), and the fair use privilege, 17 U.S.C. § 107."

Faculty are not permitted to stream full length films in an online class unless you secure a license. You may show clips.

Learn more about the TEACH Act and showing films in the classroom in this American Library Association document.

Faculty are permitted to show feature length films in a classroom or instructional setting. 

In copyright law, the TEACH Act (17 U.S.C. § 110 - U.S. Code): permits “the performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction....” It applies to showing of entire films, and also to those that involve less extensive clips from one or several sources.

Find more information on the Faculty Guide. 

Faculty, Departmental and Student Organizations must seek Public Performance Rights (PPR) in order to show publicly screened films outside of an instructional setting. 

If you are showing a film in a theater on campus and it's open to all of UT, then you will need to pay for public performance rights. PPR is required because copyrighted films (a lot of our DVDs and streaming video in the library) are not licensed to show to a large group. The exception is for instruction (see above). 

Faculty, Departments, and Campus Organizations: In order to get PPR, you must contact the distributor of the film, like the Criterion Collection or Swank (see below). When contacting these distributors, have the event information and payment information on hand. So, if you are showing a film and it's coming out of a departmental budget, have that information ready. 

Some of our streaming films already have public performance rights. Here is how you can find them:

• In Kanopy, search for a film or genre. Click on the "Public Performance" button on the bottom. If the film shows up, you are good to go for showing it on campus. Also, look for the PPR logo on the film itself. More information 

Companies that you may need to contact to secure PPR:

• Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.
• Criterion Pictures USA
• Kino Lorber
• MPLC (Motion Picture Licensing Company)
• A24 - info@a24films.com

For some films, you may need to contact the producer or distributor directly. If you need help locating the distributer, contact the library at library@ut.edu.