I came across this here

NFL tells church to cancel Super Bowl Party

We have done this in past years as well. I can't believe they are so picky. Did not do one this year because of construction, good thing.

Very interesting. According to that article it seems pretty clear that you can't show the Super Bowl on more than a 55 inch screen. If that is indeed the law pertaining to this situation I can't help but agree with it as they own the rights and I do not.

I do find it odd that they weren't allowed to used the term Super Bowl. I would think you'd be able to do that by listing the R or TM symbol next to it and listing a disclaimer that the term is copyrighted by the NFL.

I wonder how the NFL found out about this church's Super Bowl party and if they have it out for other churches, just specific ones, and other non-profit or community organizations that plan to show the game.

It seems counter intuitive that bars and restaurants are allowed to show the game and thus bring in profits because customers are coming there to watch the game and buy food, but yet church's aren't allowed to show it even without an admission fee. Also I've been in restaurants with projection screens larger than 55 inches showing sporting events, so I would think they would be held to the same law.

Is anyone familiar with any specific law surround this issue (one that specifies screen sizes and allowable venues), or is this just the de facto rules the NFL uses?

Ben

This is also being discussed on a couple of other threads (here and here). 55" is indeed currently the law, so those of you with projection TVs or big HDTV systems better watch out

Part of why they got into trouble was charging admission, advertising the event (and someone from the NFL saw the ad on the church website), and in particular using the phrase "Super Bowl".

But check out the discussions on the other threads.

I guess I am in big trouble since I have 61" DLP...how lame! I understand that the NFL must protect its rights and that charging for the event is not OK. But at least the NFL could offer some type of licensing for churches that wanted to have super bowl viewing parties that weren't in a bar.

Donald

Interesting.

Maybe for those of you who are planning on showing the Super Bowl should implement some type of back-up plan now? Find a few host homes and have people go to a select number of peoples houses to watch the game with members of your church...

From what I read, the 55" limit is only for "out of home viewing."

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Joel Osborn
Milton SDB Church
My Blog

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body. - C. S. Lewis

My comment regarding 55" TVs in homes was tongue in cheek, hence the smiley. But if you read David Reddel's document and look at the actual wording of the law on the copyright site, it's not at all clear that if you have a big HDTV screen, invite a bunch of friends over, live in 2,500 sq. ft. house, and send out invites with "Come to my big Super Bowl" party, that you won't technically be in violation of the law, the NFL's edict to discourage showings in churches and sports books, or both.

The 55" rule is in reference to "...receiving apparatus of a kind commonly used in private homes" and is in regard to displays in food & drink vs. other establishments. (There's a separate clause regarding private home viewing, but when does a party cease to be private home viewing?) I'm not saying I have any answers or that any of this should be construed as legal advice, but I do know that the law as written is out of date, as the 55" limit is no longer the upper limit for what's commonly used in private homes. (Though my home won't be approaching that any time soon, as we're quite content with our aging 38" TV...though if Donald needs a new home for his 61" DLP... )

I went out to NFL.COM this morning and they have nothing about the article. We have a "FILL IN THE BLANK" party for our youth on Sunday and this will probably end it. We try to stay within the law. I tried to follow the other thread and there is no clear cut answer about public viewing. The law is very outdated and hopefully this will change it. However, what do we do in the meantime? As christians do we forgive the over zealous lawyer at the NFL for his stand on the issue or thank him for getting it out in the open? Do we boycott the game to try to get the law changed or do we do nothing?

OK...But what if the pastor lives in a house that is attached directly to the church... would that make the church part of his home... and we are all family in Christ...
Anyone wanna argue that one?????

A couple of points to note -

Public showing
Charging admission
Advertising (using a trademark)

The ratings argument as well as the screen size are both red herrings. They are more concerned with someone making money off of their content and rightfully so. Imagine if you went out and bought a DVD and then decided to use your church to host a viewing of it on the big screen. It gets worse when it's advertised and you charge people to see it (churches are by nature public).

Private parties no matter how large are still private. The screen size would be irrelevant for home viewing. The simply don't want to allow any public viewing of their content and they especially don't want you to charge for it nor advertise it either. I gotta say that this church was pretty dumb......... )c8

Now - can you have a private party at your church? Perhaps, but that is hard to do. Churches and church functions are by nature open to the public. Even if you don't charge admission, it could still be argued that the church is receiving some benefit from using their content. The basic, guiding principle for most copyright policy is that we aren't allowed to use other people's content in ways that they don't intend - period.




Like Gene said - It's clear as mud,
PCH

What about bars and other places? They're open to the public.