August 2023: Please note, at present, we are unable to run public film screenings at LSE venues due to licencing issues. Please liaise with Kevin Haynes or Refel Ismail.
If you wish to screen a film in public (for example, as part of an event), you will need to obtain relevant licences; such as a Screening Licence to avoid an infringement of copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and a Premises Licence/Temporary Event Notice to comply with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003. Screening licences can be obtained from a ‘filmbank’, such as the BFI, Filmbankmedia or MPLC, or direct from the copyright owner if a film (or the production company) is not covered by a filmbank (the School has no flimbank licence for this reason). Applications must be made to the relevant local council for a Premises Licence or Temporary Event Notices. The School’s campus falls under the remit of either Camden or Westminster council.
Exemptions
With regard to a Premises/Temporary Event Notice, Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Licensing Act 2003 exempts the exhibition of a film if its sole or main purpose is to provide education or instruction.
With regard to copyright, sections 32 to 36 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 set out a number of exemptions (i.e., situations in which an infringement of copyright will not occur) for reasons of education. For example:
- Section 32, ‘Illustration for instruction’, allows for the fair dealing of a work (e.g., showing a film recording) for:
- a non-commercial purpose,
- by a person giving or receiving instruction, and
- accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment of the owner of the recording, unless an acknowledge is impossible.
The purpose of illustration for instruction must be the sole purpose of showing a film recording, and fair dealing would require no more of a film recording to be shown than is needed for this sole purpose of illustration for instruction.
- Section 34, ‘Performing, playing or showing work in course of activities of educational establishment’, allows for the showing of a sound recording, film or broadcast to an audience of staff and students at an educational establishment “for the purposes of instruction.” This exemption is unlikely to apply where the audience contains people who are not staff or students of the School (e.g., friends, relatives or visitors).
You can find guidance on ‘Exceptions to copyright’ on the Gov.UK website. You can contact the LSE Legal Team (Kevin Haynes, Refel Ismail or Mariachiara Valsecchi) for advice on copyright or other matters related to a film screening.
The School currently holds the following licences:
1. CLA Licence Certificate 2016-17 (PDF)
2. NLA Licence Certificate 2016-17 (PDF)
3. CLA Higher Education Licence 2016-19 (PDF)