The Lowdown on Downloading

Can videos be downloaded to use in the classroom?

By Carrie Russell -- School Library Journal, 4/1/2006

One of our teachers likes to download videos and use them in his lessons. He plans to make a presentation to his department and asked if it was permissible to save the clips on our school's shared network so other teachers could easily access them. What does the copyright law say about this? —Harlene Rosenberg, supervisor, instructional media center, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ

The copyright law permits teachers in a nonprofit educational institution to show videos for curriculum purposes. In those instances, a copy is not actually being made, but the title is publicly performed. In your particular situation, the teacher plans to make copies of the video clips and store them on a shared drive. Fair use allows one to exercise a right of copyright without the prior permission of the copyright holder under certain conditions. In your case, we can make a solid argument that this is a fair use: (a) if the clips stored on the shared drive will be used strictly for educational purposes; (b) if discrete amounts of the videos will be used (just the portion necessary to meet a teaching objective and not the entire video); and (c) if the videos have been lawfully acquired (purchased or rented so the copyright holder has benefited from the sale). I suggest that access to the shared drive be restricted solely to your teachers to reasonably prevent further video copies from being made or distributed. Furthermore, you may want to add an introductory message to each video cautioning users that the clips are protected by copyright.

Is it legal for us to use an Elmo projector to show an entire book and its illustrations? Also, from a legal perspective, have we modified the original format? —Mary Ann Shiel, library media specialist, Myles Elementary School, New Hartford, NY

The answer depends on why you're using the book. If it's being shown for educational purposes in a nonprofit setting such as a classroom, there's no problem. It's true that the projector is projecting the book's images onto a larger screen, which is a “public display”—one of the exclusive rights of the copyright holder. However, in educational settings, these kinds of public displays are usually excused as fair uses. Since you're always left with the original work after you're done showing it, its format hasn't been modified. I would argue that the image on the screen is only a temporary copy. In other words, once the book is removed from the projector, the copy no longer exists, which is another factor in favor of a fair-use interpretation.

Some of our students and teachers are very upset that I've put an end to Senior Movie Night, since it's a violation of the copyright law. I'm searching for a solution. How does one go about obtaining the rights for a public performance? —Morgan Johnson-Doyle, librarian, Sierra High School, Colorado Springs, CO

Getting a license to hold a film series is easy, but it can be very expensive. That's because film companies have traditionally made their money through showing their movies. As a result, they tend to be protective about unauthorized public performances. And the more current or popular a movie is, the more expensive it will be to purchase the public performance license. For example, screening Crash, the winner of this year's Oscar for Best Picture, would be very costly—if you were able to obtain permission at all.

There are companies that act as intermediaries between film companies and individuals or groups that are seeking permission to screen films. That's good news, since it means that you don't have to deal directly with an individual production company. Many schools opt to buy a blanket license from companies like Motion Picture USA or Swank. A blanket license generally covers the film titles you're interested in. But the problem with a blanket license is that it may be more than you need. For instance, if you're only going to show films a few times a year, a blanket license might be overkill. In that case, it would be better to negotiate permission on a film-by-film basis, which is also possible by contacting an intermediary.