There has been a lot of conversations recently among
technology coordinators assisting schools and teachers in understanding
copyright law especially as it relates to movies in a classroom, common area,
etc. Below is information that has been shared. Please assist your
teachers in understanding.
A school may show copyrighted movies under the
"Educational Exemption" only if all criteria are met:
* A teacher or instructor is present.
* The showing takes place in a classroom setting with
only the enrolled students attending.
* The movie is used as an essential part of the core,
curriculum being taught.
There has been rumors for many years that Disney has sues
teachers for showing a Disney movie in its entirety. After much research,
I have not found a case, but many state that Disney has sent cease and assist
letter to notify of questionable action.
ISSUES OF U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW RELATING TO THE USE OF
MOVIES IN THE CLASSROOM
*Classrooms in Public Schools and Nonprofit Educational
Institutions: Rented or Purchased Movies May Be Played By
Teachers Without a License*
Section 110(1) of Title 17 of the United States Code
grants a specific exemption from the copyright laws for:
performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils
in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational
institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in
the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the
display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully
made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew
or had reason to believe was not lawfully made ....
This means that no license from the copyright holder
is required when a teacher at a public school or non-profit educational
institution uses a lawfully purchased or rented copy of a movie in classroom instruction. It doesn't matter who purchased
or rented the film, so long as it was legally obtained. The exemption is
granted for "face-to-face" teaching activities only. This means that
the teacher (or a substitute teacher) must be present. The exemption covers a
"classroom or similar place devoted to instruction." This gives
teachers some flexibility. For example, it is likely that a gymnasium used for
large educational presentations in which several classes are convened together
would be covered so long as a teacher presented the film. Note that remotely
accessing a film from a central memory storage facility is probably not
permitted. See 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a).
*It is illegal to circumvent technological measures that
effectively control access to copyrighted works, such as digital locks, to make
compilations of scenes from various movies.*Title 17 U.S. Code § 1201(a)(1)(A).
However renting or purchasing a movie and showing a small portion of it and
then taking it out of the DVD or VHS player and putting in another does not
involve circumventing any type of lock.
If you have any questions, please email me so we can find
the answers together.
Sincerely,
April
Chamberlain
Technology
Coordinator
Trussville
City Schools
Trussville,
AL 35173
205
228 3044
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