Copyright Laws Stop FPU Disney Day

by James Connelly
edited by Adam Stahl

Photo courtesy of Flickr.com: Collection of Disney Movies

FPU Disney Day  was supposed to take place on Saturday night that many students on campus were planning on attending. Organizer Michael T. Brown contacted the students planning attending the event saying the event was cancelled due to circumstances that where out of his hands. With plenty of feedback in the Facebook event students were very excited to attend.

The event that was supposed to “make you feel like a kid again” was forced to be cancelled. Copyright laws were brought to the attention of organizers of the event because the event was advertising movies such as Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland.

On Friday Brown sent out the message saying “Due to copyright laws FPU Disney Day has been cancelled.”

The issue that was of main concern was the event advertising movies that have been copy written and using them for entertainment purposes and not educational purposes. Senior Experience Director Corey Lawson said, “We have plenty of great alternatives that do not involves movies.” Copyright laws do not permit showing movies as an event to large groups of people in public without obtaining the rights to show such films. According to Swank.com, a company that distributes movies to colleges for public viewing has a whole section on understanding copyright. The law states “Neither the rental nor the purchase or lending of a videocassette or DVD carries with it the right to exhibit such a movie publicly outside the home.”

Brown was very optimistic on the event as a whole considering it was his idea. A day before the event was cancelled Brown said, “I think it will be a successful because you would be surprised how many people like/love Disney movies, and it will also be successful because I’m doing after eleven o’clock.”

The senior residential life staff has not been rescheduled a replacement event and they do not plan to use movies in that capacity.