Helpful ALA Website

I just stumbled upon part of the ALA's website that discusses copyright issues (I'm not sure why I didn't think to look there in the first place). It has a great forum with lots of information, as well as resources and links to other sites. It may be helpful to you in continuing your blogs! The link is on the left.

Public performance when it comes to the internet

As promised I did a little digging into how the idea of public performance plays out on the internet. I checked NBC's site, and it says "Such material is protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws. You may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, publicly display, prepare derivative works based on, or distribute in any way any material from the Site, including but not limited to text, audio, video, code and software."

So it looks like as far as the non-cable stations are concerned, public performance copyright still stands even if its a streaming online video. When it comes to cable sites, such as Discovery, their site states, that materials are "protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. You are free to display and print for your personal, non-commercial use information you receive through the Discovery Sites. But you may not otherwise reproduce any of the materials without the prior written consent of the owner. You may not distribute copies of materials found on the Discovery Sites in any form (including by e-mail or other electronic means), without prior written permission from the owner."

So again the law still stands when it comes to the internet, but what about Utube? How does copyright law relate to that site, I wonder?

"The Cost of Copyright Confusion..."

According to a report from the Center for Social Media, "In K-12, higher education, and after-school programs and workshops, teachers face conflicting information about their rights, and their students’ rights, to quote copyrighted material. They also confront complex, restrictive copyright policies in their own institutions. As a result, teachers use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit erroneous copyright information, fail to share innovative instructional approaches, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms."

The link on the right labeled "The Cost of Copyright Confusion..." will take you to the full report about how copyright laws, or rather the fear of the law, scares teachers away from using certain media to enhance the learning process. Check it out.

Copyright restrictions on TAPING programs

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.

A quick rundown of public performance guidelines for FILM

I am completely overwhelmed by the many guidelines that accompany the section of copyright law that governs public performance. I will attempt, in this blog posting, to list some interesting aspects of the law with regard to film rights, as well as some items that you may or may not realize are part of law.

According to the textbook, "Copyright for Schools," public performance of audiovisual media requires one of these three things: (1) permission from the copyright owner to hold public performance (2) a license from a rights broker that covers the work to be shown (3)payment of royalties to the copyright owner or his agent

When it applies to schools, the issue with showing films usually have to do with non-instructional showings. Showing a movie during recess that doesn't relate to content, showing a movie on a bus trip, making back-up copies of films, or showing films for entertainment such as during special after-school functions are illegal and copyright violations.

There is a legal exemption to this law...if a teacher relates the film's content to instruction and the activity is for teaching purposes then it is legal. So in essence, even in a school environment, you may not show a copyrighted film unless it relates to instruction.

There must also be a face-to-face teaching requirement---the film must pertain to what is taught at the time, not, for example, a semester later.

Schools can purchase films that come with public performance rights included in the price. there are a variety of vendors who do this and the Johns Hopkins University link takes you to a list of those distributors.

In essence, these question must all be answered YES, otherwise public performance rights must be obtained... (1) Is it being shown as NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL? (2) Will it be shown in a CLASSROOM or SIMILAR PLACE (3) Are only INSTUCTORS and PUPILS present? (4) Is it a LEGALLY ACQUIRED COPY?

In order to avoid any violation of the copyright law, my suggestion is....do not show any film outside of an instructional setting unless legal rights have been acquired.

My Topic

As I was looking through Copyright to Schools, I found the issue with public performance rights quite interesting (and confusing). Wow, there are a whole lot of laws and rules surrounding the issue with audiovisual materials. I will try to sort through the confusion and comment on any issues that I feel would be of use to all of us.