Holy cow, as I have been researching how copyright law influences what we are allowed to videotape of off the TV, I realize I may need to add a law degree to my arsenal. A few facts...If you are taping from normal channels that you can get with an antenna (ABC, NBC,CBS, FOX) you have TEN school days from the taping to use the program (Though in a few months, antennas won't work). You may then have 45 calendar days to keep the tape for evaluation and to decide if you want to purchase it. After that the tape must be destroyed (or erased), unless explicit copyright permission has been received.
The taping of satellite or cable stations requires a research of the copyright holders permission requirements. Many cable stations offer publications that can be used to find out your rights. The link to Cable in the Classroom in the upper left corner takes you to some FAQs on their site.
Taping by a librarian is fine, however it must be done upon request, not in anticipation of needing the tape in the future. And here's the catch, the same teacher can't request the same program to be taped multiple times. The second taping requires permission from the copyright holder.
OK, I have a headache now, and my new question is...with the advent of the digital age, especially U-Tube and network websites, many shows can be viewed over the internet. How does that affect copyright law and public performance? I'll let you know.
7 months ago
4 comments:
Wow! What a complicated set of rules! So, who is actually going to sit down and research copyright holder's permission requirements for cable stations?! So it pretty much sounds like, to play it safe, you really shouldn't tape anything!
I can't believe the strict rules on watching tv shows. I hvae taped thousands of shows and never knew there was a limit to how many days I had to watch them. Also, teachers throughout my school years brought shows in for us to watch and I am sure they never had permission. This is important for us to know as media specialists because it can help us let our school community know what is acceptable and what is not.
Thank You!
I wonder why you only have 10 days to watch something taped from NBC, ABC ect. What happens after more time elapses? These rules really confuse me. I would like to know the reasoning behind these.
We as media specialists will most likely be the ones teachers come to if they have questions regarding copyright, if they even bother to ask? I am a little concerned as well that we need some law backgground to keep up with copyright law.
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