An elementary school in Berkeley, California, is having to cough up $250 for illegally screening Disney’s “The Lion King” during a school fundraiser last year.
In November, the PTA at Emerson Elementary hosted a “parent’s night out” fundraiser where parents and students watched the 2019 remake of the 1994 Disney classic.
“I think one of the dads owned the movie,” PTA President David Rose told KPIX. “He had bought it at Walmart and we just basically threw it on while the kids were playing in the auditorium.”
Last week, nearly three months after the event took place, the school received an email from Movie Licensing USA saying it had to pay $250 for playing the film without a license.
“Any time a movie is shown outside of the home, legal permission is needed to show it, as it is considered a Public Performance,” read the email, which was obtained by CNN. “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.”
Berkeley City Council member Lori Droste, who is also a parent at Emerson Elementary, blasted the fine on Twitter.
“As I was dropping the kids off at the school this morning the PTA was freaking out over a letter they received from Disney’s licensing demanding money,” she wrote. “Mind you, they wanted pretty much what they had raised that evening. $250. For Disney. For a movie to raise money for kids.”
The PTA president told KPIX that the organization plans to pay the fine.
“The event made $800, so if we have to fork over a third of it to Disney, so be it. You know, lesson learned,” Mr. Rose said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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