Film (including movies, television, and other moving picture media) is a valuable tool in many courses. However, when you want to show a film, you must consider the rights of those who own the copyright to that work. This consideration must be made regardless of where you obtain the film and whether you will show it as a part of a course, a club activity, a training exercise, or other event.

SLCC Library Services provides licensed streaming content when possible and available. To that end, the Library has several collections of licensed films, available for streaming in Canvas and more generally. 

Request a Streaming Film

If you are considering showing a film in a face-to-face or online class or adding a film to a course DEV site, please:

1. Search for your desired film in one of the Library’s online video platforms to see if your film is already available through Library resources.
   • If your film is included, great! Use the permalink, embed code, or other option in the platform to share the film. For assistance with this, please contact your liaison librarian.
2. Submit the streaming media request form if your desired film is not currently in a Library collection. You will need to log in to Microsoft 365.
   • If your desired film is not currently in a collection, the Library will attempt to obtain a license for the requested streaming media.
   • Your liaison librarian will contact you concerning the outcome of your request and if additional details are needed.

Please note that the Library is not able to provide streaming access to all requested films. Beginning Fall 2025, the Library will no longer digitize materials to fulfill streaming media requests nor support the use of previously digitized films.

Copyright holders have the exclusive right to display a work publicly. To show a film publicly, a separate “public performance” license (often referred to as "PPR," short for "Public Performance Rights") is required from the copyright owner.

There are several limitations to this exclusive right laid out in the United States Copyright Act section 110 (17 U.S.C. §110). Section 110(1) allows for the display of an audiovisual work without a license “in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction” using a lawfully made and obtained copy. Section 110(2), commonly known as the TEACH Act, addresses distance education and allows for the digital transmission of “reasonable and limited portions of audiovisual and dramatic works.” 

Additionally, some uses of film may be allowed under the Fair Use doctrine (17 U.S.C. §107). Fair Use should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and relies on four factors: the purpose and character of your use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and the effect of the use on the potential market.

To learn more about any of these exceptions, please visit the Library’s Copyright Resources guide or contact the copyright librarian.

Streaming services, like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and others, restrict access to individual users. Even with a paid personal account, separate public performance rights are needed to publicly show the film. Unfortunately, streaming services often will not make their content available to license. Similarly, their membership terms of service may trump applicable exceptions in copyright law, like the TEACH Act. Thus, even if your use of the film on the streaming platform would be permissible under copyright law, the terms of agreement would still prevent you from using it.