Lay My Hat

Help,

I`ve spent hours trying to research the correct licences to get for letting guests have a dvd library.
The copyright law seems such a mess.
Has anyone found a workable solution? Or is it best not to bother?

Karen & John

ps, we have just gone live on Norfolk Country Cottages and are nervously awaiting our 1st booking!

I wouldn't have a DVD library as it's far too much hassle. If people want to watch a movie, they can always buy their own.

+1

i have this year removed the dvd players from our apartments and i have satellite receiver boxes that take multimedia ( USB, SD cards etc ... ) so guests can bring their own media also most guests arrive with their own tablets , lap tops and can also connect these to view on the main TV
it seems to work fine

Karen&John wrote:Help,

I`ve spent hours trying to research the correct licences to get for letting guests have a dvd library.
The copyright law seems such a mess.
Has anyone found a workable solution? Or is it best not to bother?

It’s a total mess. There are two different organisations issuing ‘Concierge Licences’, each organisation represents different studios. Filmbank used to require a list of the DVD titles supplied to guests on a monthly or quarterly (can’t remember) basis; I don’t know if they still do. MPLA didn’t make that requirement, but represent fewer of the main studios. Then there are titles that aren’t released by the big boys, such as tourism guides, which aren’t covered by either licence and you’d have to contact the copyright holder directly for permission to supply; they would probably be astonished and go into a corner gibbering about red tape.
This is the point, if it hasn’t already happened, when the main circuit breaker in your head trips and you decide that risking a midnight raid from the SWAT team is preferable to trying to understand the mess and seek (and fail) to comply.

It’s bonkers - there’s even a grey area surrounding the situation of guests bringing their own DVDs and viewing them in your rental; it seems to depend on the definition of ‘public place’ which varies according to who it suits. Or something.

I wouldn't bother with a license. But i would keep your DVD libary small and cheap as premium titles are expensive and they disapear!

I get popular DVD film as soon as possible after release and as cheap as possible on ebay, £3 or £5 max. I've limited the DVD's available to a max of ten discs. Some for the kids, some for adults. The most popular movies tend to be aimed at both though nowadays.

Notice: “Due to absurd and impenetrable licensing regulations we do not supply DVDs for our guests. If you happen to find any in the top right hand drawer they’ve probably been left behind accidentally by previous guests; please let us know at the end of your stay.”

Agree with a-x.
The regulations are almost indecipherable & realistically, the copyright feds are really, really, really unlikely to come knocking for the sake of a few films, most of which will almost certainly get nicked, misplaced, scratched or broken far quicker than you might have hoped.
Seeing as almost everybody is permanently glued to their phone screens these days, I'd concentrate on making sure you have good wi-fi instead & worry no more about supplying entertainment media - they'll probably be carrying too much of their own to notice. Then all you have to worry about is illegal downloads & streaming........