MPLC Intros Blanket Movie Performance License for K-12
Copyright licensing agency Motion Picture Licensing Corp. (MPLC) has debuted a new umbrella license for K-12 day schools that allows public performance of motion pictures on campus inside and outside the classroom.
MPLC provides motion picture performance licenses to about 250,000 facilities in the United States, according to the company, and about 450,000 worldwide. But its new education-specific license is different in that it provides an annual blanket license for unlimited exhibition of films from supported studios. The license covers all campus groups (such as PTAs or student clubs) and all campus venues and allows for the performance of movies in any format (tapes, films, DVDs, downloaded movies, etc.) before, during, and after school.
MPLC described the umbrella license as follows: "The License gives schools the performance rights to show movies, popular children’s programs, educational documentaries, and other audiovisual content for entertainment purposes on their campuses. Studios and producers covered by the license are 20th Century Fox, as well as 390 children’s, independent, specialty, and documentary producers, including Scholastic Entertainment, Hit Entertainment, Discovery Channel, A&E, The History Channel, Sony Pictures Classics, and others that are not represented by any other licensing company. Once licensed, movies can be obtained from any legitimate source. For example, movies can be rented, streamed, or downloaded and shown without any further reporting."
A complete list of supported studios and producers can be downloaded in PDF format.
“Many schools rely on videos to entertain as well as facilitate get togethers for various school clubs and groups. We developed this license in conjunction with schools to provide an affordable and efficient means to show movies and other programs that are popular with children,” said PJ Kuyper, MPLC president, in a prepared statement.
Pricing for the license scales with the size of the student body. The annual fee ranges from $95 for schools with 150 or fewer students $250 for those with more than 1,000 students. DIstricts can receive discounts for purchasing licenses for three or more schools. Additional details can be found on MPLC's site.