According to the copyright laws set forth in  Title 17 of the U.S. Code:

“Publication” is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.

To perform or display a work “publicly” means— 

(1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or

(2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.

Showing a film to your friends or family in your home legal and showing a film in a face-to-face class is covered under Fair Use. However, showing a film to a group or organization outside the structure of a class may require public performance rights.

Public Performance Rights (PPR) ultimately rest with the copyright holder - often the film's production company. Many Hollywood production companies use Swank Motion Pictures, Inc or other distribution companies to manage PPR. Additionally, PPR is included in some, but not all, of the subscriptions the University of Iowa Libraries buys through streaming video vendors.

• Use the list on this page to find out if PPR is already included in our streaming subscription.
• While the UIowa Libraries cannot pay for one-time public performance rights, we may be able to help you find out who owns the PPR. Contact the Liaison Librarian for your academic department or another UI librarian for help.

The University of Iowa typically buys media for classroom or educational use. Like DVDs & Blu-Rays in your personal collection, most of ours do not include Public Performance Rights. A few do include PPR, however, and you can find them through InfoHawk+, our library catalog, available n the University of Iowa Libraries homepage (opens in new window).

Step 1.  Set InfoHawk+ to search with Focus set to ON. This searches only our library holdings and not material from outside databases and other sources. 

Step 2. Use this search string to find anything that mentions either the letters PPR or the phrase "public performance rights" - PPR OR "public performance rights".

Step 3. Once you have searched, use the Resource Type filter to the left of the results to find DVDs, Blu-Rays or other formats you can use.

Step 3. Once you have searched, use the Resource Type filter to the left of the results to find DVDs, Blu-Rays or other formats you can use.

Situations that require Public Performance Rights include:

• events open to the public, including seminars and colloquia
• events occurring in public (i.e., non-classroom) space
• student club events

Note that showings cannot charge admission for attendance.

The UIowa Libraries licenses streaming video on a variety of platforms.

The following include Public Performance Rights to varying degrees; click the "more" link for relevant PPR information.