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Fans routinely talk about how litigious The Walt Disney Company can be in some instances, going to great lengths to protect their intellectual properties. Now a new story is here to remind you of that as CNN brings word of Emerson Elementary School in Berkley, California, who are now being forced to pay a licensing fee after screening the 2019 photo-real remake of The Lion King. The circumstances of this make more sense in context as this wasn’t an instance of a classroom using the film to broaden young minds or to make a point within a lesson (which would be legal under current copyright law with the “Face-to-Face Teaching Exemption”).
The school in question was reportedly hosting a “parent’s night out” event in November of 2019 with the children sequestered elsewhere, and shown the movie which had been freshly bought by a parent just for the occasion. Somehow, the licensing company Movie Licensing USA (who represents Disney in scenarios like this) got wind of this and has sent an email demand to the school to the tune of $250 because of their public exhibition of the movie. The school reportedly raised $800 at their fundraiser and PTA president David Rose said the PTA will “somewhat begrudgingly” pay the tab for the licensing fee.
“Any time a movie is shown outside of the home, legal permission is needed to show it, as it is considered a Public Performance,” the email in question read. “Any time movies are shown without the proper license, copyright law is violated and the entity showing the movie can be fined by the studios. If a movie is shown for any entertainment reason — even in the classroom, it is required by law that the school obtains a Public Performance license.”
“It’s just so appalling that an incredibly wealthy corporation … is having its licensing agents chase after a PTA having to raise insane amounts of money just to pay teachers, cover financial scholarships and manage school programs,” Berkeley City Council member Lori Droste told CNN. “We would be enthusiastic about paying the license fee if Disney was willing to have their properties reassessed and pay some additional property taxes.”
Droste refers to the proposed change in California’s Proposition 13, a property tax amendment that if altered could see Disney’s tax bill just for their DisneyLand properties push a quarter of a billion dollars annually.
The 2019 reboot of The Lion King became the second highest grossing movie of the year overall, bringing in $1.656 billion worldwide and nabbing a nomination for Best Achievement in Visual Effects Academy Awards, which it might take home this Sunday.
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