In short this use will be considered as a public performance for entertainment purposes and therefore s.34 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is unlikely to apply.
S.34 of the Act states:
(1) The performance of a literary, dramatic or musical work before an audience consisting of teachers and pupils at an educational establishment and other persons directly connected with the activities of the establishment—
(a) by a teacher or pupil in the course of the activities of the establishment, or
(b) at the establishment by any person for the purposes of instruction,
is not a public performance for the purposes of infringement of copyright.
(2) The playing or showing of a sound recording, film, broadcast or cable programme before such an audience at an educational establishment for the purposes of instruction is not a playing or showing of the work in public for the purposes of infringement of copyright.
(3) A person is not for this purpose directly connected with the activities of the educational establishment simply because he is the parent of a pupil at the establishment.
Therefore, if the performance, showing or playing of a work in public is not for purposes of instruction, appropriate permission from the copyright owner of the work or a licence from the relevant collective licensing organisation should be obtained.
A relevant licensing body with regard to playing, showing or performance of movies in public is the Filmbank Distributors Ltd. The Film Bank Distributors Ltd (Filmbank) operates the Public Video Screening Licence (PVSL) to cover the public screening or performance of films by certain studios in the non-theatrical market. Non-theatrical market excludes the cinema and home where films are screened but would include schools, film societies, student unions, institutions and libraries.
The licence covers the use of commercially bought DVDs in institutions for non-educational purposes for example film clubs, or end of term treats however the PVSL licence is limited to showing the film to students and staff at the institution and does not permit charging the audience. More information on the PVSL licence can be obtained from Filmbank’s website.
Where students intend to show a film as a fundraising event this will, by definition, involve charging for the screening of the film or admission to the premises therefore the PVSL licence will not be appropriate. Filmbank do however operate a separate Single Title Screening Licence which would allow the charging of an admission fee to view the film.
The Single Title Screening Licence is issued on a title by title basis and is limited to films from Filmbank’s list of participating studios/distributors. According to the licence terms where a charge is made to the audience this would be classed as a commercial screening and licence fees are the higher of the applicable minimum guarantee stated on the Filmbank Commercial rate card or 35% of all monies or other consideration received for audience admission less VAT.
There are other collective licensing bodies which license showing of films in public for exampleThe Motion Picture Licensing Corporation. The institution should check what films an organisation licenses to ensure they get the correct licence for the titles they wish to show.