Earlier this month, the University was fined for violation of intellectual property law when the distribution company of “Black Snake Moan” found an advertisement on Wesleying for a free screening of the movie in Film Hall.
As a result, the University has been more closely monitoring public screenings of copyrighted films on campus. While we understand that the University hopes to avoid future copyright infringement and the accompanying fines, we worry that this heightened enforcement may curtail student group events, especially those put on by Film Hall.
Program Houses serve a special purpose on campus: to create a living space for students with similar interests, and to promote these interests to the greater University community through inclusive events and programs. Many of these events—similar to those that student groups often organize—involve viewing films and then discussing their content with a professor, a guest lecturer or amongst fellow students. Film Hall, in particular, relies heavily upon movie screenings to fulfill its central mission statement, as well as its program requirement for each semester.
While we recognize that Film Hall may be at risk here, it is important to note that these increased regulations may actually result in student groups co-sponsoring more programs with other groups. In order to minimize copyright costs, groups could collaborate on film viewing events. Such cooperation may also lead to more productive dialogue between groups and less event overlap on campus. Film Hall, for example, could organize post-Film Series discussions of just-screened movies, and work in collaboration with the Film Studies department on other events as well. Obviously, the Goldsmith Family Cinema offers a state-of-the-art viewing environment, but Film Hall provides a more intimate setting in which to view movies. With one of the best film departments in the country, the University should be able to offer a wide variety of films and film-related programming in a wide variety of viewing spaces.
Additionally, these increased copyright restrictions may force student groups to pay added attention to their budgets and subsequently plan more creative programs.
Even if the recent restrictions may produce the marginal benefit of student groups working together with greater frequency, the fact remains that these same restrictions will greatly impede the ability of any student group or Program House to sponsor public viewings.
Thus, if the University expects Program Houses and student groups to continue to thrive under these strictly enforced copyright regulations, it should also provide an accompanying increase in funding to compensate for the copyrights that these groups must now purchase to view films. It should also provide more information to Program hHouse managers and student group leaders, in an effort to make the University’s copyright policy consistent and understood by all.
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