Can I play Freedive to the public in a library setting?

I work at a library and would like to screen movies to the public we serve. Unfortunately, we cannot play DVDs in public due to copyright/public performance laws. However, there is a streaming service called Kanopy that has public performance rights that lets people publicly stream movies for certain movies. Does IMDB's Freedive offer such privileges? Thanks.

Joaquin Ayala

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Posted 9 months ago

9 months ago

Jeorj Euler

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Hi, Joaquin Ayala. You would have to test it out at the particular public library that you intend to visit. IMDb Freedive is supposed to be available to every system located in the United States, and use also requires that the would-be viewer be signed into the site.

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2019-03-09T08:52:24+00:00

Joaquin Ayala

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Not necessarily. We've been screening movies for Black History Month and International Women's Day with permission from Kanopy and the studios.

2019-03-09T08:55:02+00:00

Ed Jones (XLIX)

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Kanopy is for that exact purpose. If you can seek releases, go for it. I does not hurt to ask. All they can do is say No..........or Yes!!

2019-03-09T09:00:35+00:00

Joaquin Ayala

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Kanopy recently gave me the approval to screen a French thriller called Let the Corpses Tan for a foreign language series I'm planning...only to get it nixed by my boss since the movie was too graphic. I can potentially screen "unrated" films but not if it has nudity. Like you said though, the worse they can do is say no!

2019-03-09T09:05:15+00:00

Joaquin Ayala

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Forgot to add that while public libraries aren't considered educational institutions, we do have educational missions and it's through that that we can work with Kanopy.

2019-03-13T20:19:49+00:00

jimthing

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Sounds like you do good educational outreach work. Nice one. :-)

(Edited)

9 months ago

Jeorj Euler

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Joaquin Ayala, you're more concerned about license than technical capacity, to view the content available on IMDb Freedive? If so, you could interpret the documents referenced earlier by Ed Jones (XLIX) to be an insight as to IMDb policy on the matter. I mentioned the thing about television, but nobody has to sign in or consent to terms of service in order to view something that is transmitted over the air, unlike IMDb Freedive. The issue of YouTube further complicates things, since tons of YouTube content can be viewed without having a registered user account.

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9 months ago

Steve, Official Rep

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Hi Joaquin,

I have an update:
We are currently investigating this issue and will reply back as soon as more information is available.

Thanks in advance!

(Edited)

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2019-03-09T08:30:03+00:00

Joaquin Ayala

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Thank you, Steve. That is most appreciated!!!

2019-03-09T08:34:55+00:00

Ed Jones (XLIX)

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See above reply Joaquin

2019-03-09T08:40:52+00:00

Joaquin Ayala

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Thanks, Ed!

9 months ago

Ed Jones (XLIX)

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Steve follow all the links provided and you end up at Amazon and the Section 4 Paragraph "H" referred to above.

(Edited)

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9 months ago

Joaquin Ayala

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Ah, and that's likely the definitive answer. Prime doesn't have public performance rights, either. Bummer. Oh well, it was worth a shot. Thanks everyone for the help and insight!

(Edited)

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2019-03-09T08:40:34+00:00

Ed Jones (XLIX)

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I've read a lot of law books over the years. Have done quite a bit of paralegal research work. I once went to court over a trespassing misdemeanor charge and got 5 hung juries. The Municipality in question gave up!

2019-03-09T08:45:51+00:00

Joaquin Ayala

11 Posts
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Good stuff, Ed. Yeah, I used to be a Law Librarian and immersed myself in both State and Federal law. So I always try to check up on the legality of things at work!

9 months ago

Claire, Official Rep

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Hi all,

Thanks so much for your patience.

As described in the IMDb Conditions of Use, the use of IMDb Freedive is subject to the Amazon Prime Video Terms of Use. Under those terms, users may view content for “personal, non-commercial, private use.”

Let us know if we can offer any further help.

(Edited)