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[systeme_d_]

For those of you who have successfully had your library digitize a film and provide you with a URL, how much lead time do you have to give them? How long does it take them to do this? Thanks.

My library appreciates a week's notice, but I always give them more than twice that.

[systeme_d_]

I'm not a copyright lawyer, but as a librarian, I'm often called to play one.  =)

Legally, providing access to a film digitally would be protected under the TEACH ACT.  You don't have to worry about fair use; the TEACH ACT provides exemptions for public performance in an online class environment.  You have to make sure the only ones who can access the film are those enrolled in your class, so if you can put it on Blackboard, etc, you should be fine. 

(Q/A #17 on the Penn State library site is a good reference: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/dmd/teachact/teachactFAQ.html)
<snip>

Thank you very much, Ranganathan!  That will be very helpful to many of us, I am sure.

[zuzu_]

Yes--THANK YOU, ranganathan. I am going to craft a message to my favorite librarian now and send him this link.

[spyzowin]

Yes--THANK YOU, ranganathan. I am going to craft a message to my favorite librarian now and send him this link.

The usual caveat is that the film must only be available once to students (eg one viewing over a two day or so period) and must never be reused for a future section.

If you just assign netflix as a textbook then you can assign whatever you want (just about) through Netflix's streaming video service.

[infopri]

I'm not a lawyer, either, but I teach this stuff.

Note that the TEACH Act (the relevant part of which is codified at 17 U.S.C. 110(2)) does not provide for the conversion of analog materials to digital format, but does, as ranganathan said, allow you to show the movie to an online class.  (The relevant portion in paragraph (2) begins with these words, in the lower third of the paragraph: "display of a work in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session, by or in the course of a transmission, if — " and continues until you hit paragraph (3).  Also see the several paragraphs after paragraph (11) and immediately preceding Section 111.  See here for a plain-English translation of the Act's main provisions.)  Also, while Section 108 explicitly allows libraries (and archives) to reproduce copyrighted works under specified circumstances, motion pictures explicitly excluded (see 17 U.S.C. 108(i), which is the last paragraph before Section 109 begins.)

However, if the film is already in digital format, you can use it without violating copyright if:

- You put it on your password-protected CMS and make it available only to your own students.

- You make it available for streaming, rather than download.

- The plain-English guidelines I linked to says you may perform or display only "reasonable and limited portions" of a work, but the law actually allows "display of a work in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session" (17 U.S.C. 110(2), assuming you meet the listed criteria (part of the class material, display is limited to students, etc.).  In the statute, the "reasonable and limited portions" language is limited to performance.  Showing a film is display, not performance.

Regarding fair use (which is a separate animal from the provisions of the TEACH Act):

Note that, while many libraries use "10 percent of the work" as the limit of what constitutes fair use, the law has no numerical criterion.  (See the four factors systeme_d posted above.)  These four factors are all considered together.  Let me give you an example.  The chase scene in the 1968 movie Bullitt became an instant classic, the chase scene to end all chase scenes.  At the time Bullitt was released, the only way to see a motion picture was to see it in the theater (usually at full price) or wait for years in hopes it would show up on broadcast TV.  (There was no cable at the time, let alone Blockbuster stores or Netflix.)  The chase scene generated huge buzz and was arguably the main reason many people went to see the movie.  (It was not uncommon to hear people say, "Oh, you've got to see this movie, if only for the chase scene!")  The chase scene lasted only a few minutes, far less than 10 percent of the movie's total running time--but if you were to display just this scene to an audience (back in 1968, anyway), you arguably would have had a profound effect on the movie's potential market or value.  It could be argued that, once the audience had seen the chase, they no longer had a compelling reason to see the movie.

Personally, I believe that showing the entire movie constitutes legal use if (a) the entire movie contributes to the lesson, (b) you limit the display to your own students, and (c) you prevent the students from making copies.  (Remember, though, I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice, just my reading of the law.)

One last thing: I see no provision in the law that the original copy must be owned by the library or the instructor, per se.  What the law requires is that the original be a lawfully made copy, nothing more.  The library's policy is probably based on that provision and the library's fear that you might bring them a bootleg copy.  I imagine that Netflix and Blockbuster (etc.) probably has a provision in their rental agreements that the borrower won't make any copies for any reason, so if you make a copy for this purpose, you've violated the contract, which means the copy is unlawful.  And, of course, you can't use a pirated copy that you downloaded from somewhere.  But there's no reason you can't use your cousin's copy, if you wanted to, as long as your cousin obtained the copy legally and gave you permission to borrow it for this purpose.

[dellaroux]

Bookmarking.

Good to have the standards discussed so clearly, thanks!

[flutter]

I have used entire videos in my online classes. Your tech people should be able to digitize VHS tapes or DVDs although they may not have the system for PAL or SECAM for VHS or regions other than Region 1 for DVD. They can also compress the video so that the file size is smaller than the original (useful for slow connections). The file itself is stored on a central server in the IT department, so I simply provide the students with a link to the server. Once they click on it, the streaming download starts, and nothing needs to be uploaded to the course management system. Quite simple, really.

I'm going to print this and show it to the IT department. Thanks!

Yes, this. Our media center (library) uses Mediamatrix to upload video into streaming video. They upload for me and can deal with the copyright issues.