Disney CEO apologized after the incident that an elementary school was fined for showing Lion King

Disney CEO Bob Iger will personally apologize to a parent-teacher association after a California elementary school was fined for buying The Lion King and showing it at her fundraising.

” Our company apologizes to Emerson PTA Elementary School and I will donate to their fund individually,” Iger posted on Twitter this morning.

You are wondering what is the complexity of the above case that Disney CEO has to apologize personally?

Reportedly, Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley, California, was fined up to $ 250 by Movie Licensing USA licensing company for showing the Lion King movie at a fundraising event involving parents in the school and earning 800 USD later. The fundraising event was organized to help teachers and bring money to the school to support the operation – according to a tweet from Emerson PTA.

The tweet of the CEO of Disney

Movie Licensing USA, a licensing company with a partnership with Disney and many other companies, emailed Emerson, saying the company had been reported about the school’s screening, and the school would have to faces a fine of up to $ 250 for the public screening of a film for which the school has not been licensed. This email states that ” any time a film is shown outside of the household, a legal authorization is required to show it, because this activity is considered a public screening. “.

The members of the PTA did not know that they had to apply for a license for the film. ” One of the dads bought the movie on Best Buy,” said PTA president David Rose. ” He owned it. We had no idea we were breaking the law.”

There is a series of unanswered questions in the incident. How did Movie Licensing USA know about event information? Who alerted the company to a small fundraising event that the company had to take part in? Disney is famous for its strategy to tackle piracy, but often it is for movies posted on YouTube or other hosting websites, or other companies that use characters. belongs to Disney property – not a fundraising event, where a movie has been bought and sold by a local dad.

At least Iger is trying to resolve the situation. But his actions did not answer any of the questions raised above. Perhaps we have to wait for Movie Licensing USA, and also Disney, to speak up to know.

Reference: TheVerge