MPLC is the leading provider of public performance licences for businesses who use streaming, TV and film content to enhance their employee or customer experience.
We’ve been in business for nearly 40 years and have provided licences to tens of thousands of businesses, government entities, and non-profit organisations across the UK and in 27 other countries worldwide.
MPLC’s UK licensees include well-known restaurant chains, major hotel brands, healthcare networks, financial institutions, manufacturing and warehouses, car dealerships, sports and social clubs, property management companies, government agencies, and small and medium-sized businesses who want to operate in compliance with the UK Copyright Act.
Any place where a substantial number of persons outside a normal circle of family and its social acquaintances is gathered. This includes clubs, lodges, factories, summer camps, and schools and a public performance licence is required to show audiovisual content to its members or patrons, with only narrow and limited exceptions.
All content obtained via download, streaming, over-the-air broadcast, satellite TV, DVD or Blu-ray is intended for personal, private use only and is not licenced for public showing without permission from the rightsholder. An MPLC Public Performance Licence is required when MPLC rightsholders’ content is shown in public.
Yes, you do.
An MPLC Blanket Licence is required to legally show movies and TV to the public or any closed group of customers, members, or other people, regardless of whether you charge for admission.
Note: the MPLC Blanket Licence only covers showings where no admission fee is charged. If you want to charge people to see a movie, you need a different licence called a ‘Single Title Licence’.
Yes. The Copyright Act applies equally to all organisations, including not-for-profit organisations, members’ clubs, public sector organisations, and charities.
When you are streaming or showing TV and film publicly either to a group of the general public or a closed group of members or supporters, you still need a licence. The MPLC Blanket Licence covers works from the major television studios, movie studios, and many other smaller producers.
Licences are very affordable, easy to buy, and can be in place immediately.
Yes. Copyright law applies to all organisations, including not-for-profit organisations, public sector organisations, and charities. MPLC licences many local, state, and federal agencies.
When you are streaming, showing TV or films publicly either to a group of the general public or a closed group of members or supporters, you still need a licence. The MPLC Blanket Licence covers works from the major television studios, movie studios, and many other smaller producers.
Licences are very affordable, easy to buy, and can be in place immediately. Contact us to ask questions, find out how much a licence will cost, or to get licenced today.
Yes, you likely do.
If the documentary is produced by one of MPLC’s rightsholders (the list is vast), then a licence would almost certainly be required.
It does not matter whether you are a private club or open to the public, both are treated the same. Whether you show documentaries or a Hollywood blockbuster, a licence is required.
MPLC Blanket Licences are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
MPLC does not currently licence live sports, so if you only show live sports, you do not need an MPLC licence. However, before or after a game, the channel will often broadcast a TV sitcom or film that is likely represented by an MPLC rightsholder, for which our licence would be needed.
To avoid copyright infringement you would need a reliable mechanism to ensure that nothing except live sports could appear on screen. Without such a mechanism, an MPLC licence addresses that risk. Many sports bars secure a licence precisely because they cannot guarantee the channel will be changed when a sporting event stops airing.
MPLC Blanket Licences are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
Yes, you do.
A music licence covers the playing of music and the money collected goes to the artists, performers, and music labels. This includes the music contained within TV programmes.
To play audiovisual content, streaming or films and TV you need a separate licence, and that is what the MPLC Blanket Licence provides. The money MPLC collects is shared with our rightsholders, and in turn with the individual actors, professionals, technicians, and other creative personnel who create TV content.
An MPLC Blanket Licence is very affordable, easy to buy, and can be in place immediately.
Yes, you likely do.
Your TV licence does not fully protect you against copyright infringement claims from rightsholders of unlicenced programming when content is shown in public.
The MPLC Blanket Licence goes far to fill the remaining gap.
We understand this can come as a surprise. MPLC has been helping organisations stay compliant with copyright law for nearly 40 years. While we licence hundreds of thousands of companies and organisations worldwide, there are still many that need a licence.
If you have been operating without a licence, it is not too late to secure one today and take the right steps towards legal copyright compliance.
MPLC Blanket Licences are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
The MPLC Blanket Licence is the legal way to show movies and TV programmes in a public or commercial space. ‘Umbrella Licence’ is an older name for the same licence. We updated the name in 2024 to make things simpler. There is no difference between the two.
The licence covers all content produced by the thousands of rightsholders MPLC represents. It is affordable, easy to buy, and covers you immediately.
You pay a simple, affordable annual fee based on the type and size of your site, location, or business. You do not need to report to us, or anyone else, which movies or TV programmes you show. You are free to show any licenced programme at any time.
You can use any legal media as a source from broadcast television, streamed content, DVDs, TV licence channels, anything that is intended to be ‘for personal, private use only’. When you have an MPLC Blanket Licence, that restriction is removed for use in your licenced premises.
The only restrictions are that you cannot charge an admission fee to watch movies or programmes, and you cannot advertise the showing of a specific film or show (or include a description identifying a specific film or show) to anyone other than a closed group of patrons at your licenced premises. If you want to charge an admission fee or promote a specific showing more publicly, you need a Single Title Licence.
An MPLC Blanket Licence runs for one year, allowing you to show all licenced TV and film content you want in your business or commercial setting during that period.
The MPLC Blanket Licence is a simple, affordable annual fee. There is no ongoing reporting or administrative paperwork.
The cost depends on:
No, you do not. The MPLC Blanket Licence covers everything produced by the thousands of rightsholders we represent, so you do not need to report what you are showing.
Unlicensed use of content can result in a civil claim for damages, with no upper limit, for each programme or film that is shown, and in some cases even a criminal fine. A licence removes the uncertainty, giving you clear, predictable costs instead of exposure to potentially significant infringement claims.
Yes. If you have a financial interest in the event, or if you allow your venue to be used for a public performance without the appropriate licence, you could be held liable for copyright infringement.
Please contact us through our Support Contact Form with your last licence or invoice number (if you know it), and we will ensure your licence is renewed so you remain compliant with copyright law.
No worries. Simply send us a request through our Support Contact Form and we will find your licence and send it to you by email.
For a copy of your last or any previous invoice, please use our Customer Support form and we will send one to you straight away.
Please send us a request through our Support Contact Form with your licence or last invoice number (if you know it) and the details you would like to change, and we will make the updates for you.
