Copyright & Videos for Education.

CiTi Library Media Center

Copyright and Videos for Education

No, don't stop reading!....We all do it.  We show videos during our classes.  In today's multimedia world it is necessary to incorporate multimedia into our lessons.  That being said, we can not ignore copyright rules when we do this and you can be personally held accountable for the violations that result in fines.  The article - Teachers Should Know Copyright from Wrong provides insight into this area.  For expert advise on specific situations you need to talk with a lawyer that specializes in copyright use in education.

Just because you are in a school setting does not mean that the use of a video is covered under the Fair Use Act. For more information on Fair Use please look to the Copyright office link here.  The Fair Use Act does not cover showing a movie in school to entertain students for whatever reason, i.e. it is raining outside and students can't go outside today.  To be able to do this properly the school would need to purchase a public performance license.  For more information on this please look to this article - Why Schools Aren't Safe Harbors for Copyright Infringement Think educators can show a movie at school for any reason?  Think again.  The cost of this type of license can be found with a little research and should not be too expensive.  There are plenty of Fair Use options for viewing multimedia and creation of multimedia in schools, we just need to be aware of and have the goal of meeting the Fair Use Standard.  Here are the 4 things to consider and ask yourself:

The four factors judges consider are:

• the purpose and character of your use
• the nature of the copyrighted work
• the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
• the effect of the use upon the potential market.

Netflix.com

Netfilx in school setting.... No don't stop reading!......There are things you should know when it comes to streaming Netflix in schools.  No matter what the customer service person tells you on the phone you do not have permission to stream Netflix movies and shows in school! This article - May one stream a Netflix Video for in-class use?  This article explains that what you would be streaming would not be considered a legal copy.  Due to the user agreement you signed when you subscribed to the service and for Fair Use to apply it must be a legal copy.  Basically when you signed that user agreement you signed away the copyright exceptions.  I recommend reading all user agreements before signing up.  You would be surprised what is actually included in some of them.

I do have one last piece of information to share with you about Netflix.  Please keep in mind that when you access Netflix at work using the Internet at work you need to remember to follow your School's and District's user agreements and guidelines.  When you access Netflix you are accessing your personal account and anything that shows up on your screen will be reflected in your computer usage history.  I would recommend keeping this in mind.  Do you really want to open your personal viewing history to everyone?  This also includes anything that your family and friends have viewed on your account. Personally I do not want anyone to know what I watched last night when I couldn't fall asleep, or what I put on when I binge clean my apartment, nor do they need to know what I spent the weekend binge watching because I was bored.

Things to remember:
1. You are personally responsible for any copyright violations you make
2.  Public performance you need a license for this
3.  What you show must be considered a legal copy for Fair Use to apply
4.  Using personal accounts at work opens them to scrutiny.