MOVIES - Jan. 23, 1989

A federal appeals panel has cleared the way for hotel managers to rent movies to guests to watch in their rooms, without having to worry about legal action. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision in a copyright infringement case filed by Columbia Pictures Industries, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Productions and four other studios. The movie makers filed suit against La Mancha Private Club and Villas in Palm Springs, claiming it was staging public performances of copyrighted material by allowing guests to rent movies in a hotel gift shop to show in their rooms. Public showings of films without licensing agreements violate federal copyright laws. The appeals court affirmed an earlier ruling, saying that “while the hotel may be ‘open to the public,’ a guest’s hotel room, once rented, is not.”