Regulations No.
2531
Board of Education
Mount Laurel Township
Copying Copyrighted Materials
Position Statement on the Use of Videotapes
in School
The librarians in the Mount Laurel School System, in response to current
trends and circumstances, express the following position on the use of
videotapes in our schools: we support the copyright law of the United
States, as detailed in section 110 and the provisions of the Guidelines
for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes
(a congressional response to Section 107, concerning the definition of
‘fair use') Copies of these documents, and several explanatory articles,
are attached.
Because we are mainly confronted with abuses or questions on copyright
in particular situation, we will describe the most common problems we
have encountered.
TEACHER USE OF VIDEOTAPES
HE/SHE MADE BY THE OFF-AIR VIDEOTAPING
OF TV PROGRAMS EITHER AT HOME OR IN SCHOOL
Broadcast programming taped for educational use is governed
by the “Guidelines for Off-Air Recording,” known as the Kastenmeir Guidelines. The
guidelines allow schools to tape broadcast programs off-air if the resulting
tape is used within the first ten school days after the initial airdate. The
ten days does not include weekends or days when school is not in session. During
this ten day period, the teacher may use the program twice with their
class. Teachers may retain the tape for an additional 35 days
for private viewing, preparing test questions and to give time to seek
permission from the producer to obtain a copy. This videotape
must be erased at the end of the 45 day period.
The provisions of the guidelines preclude teachers from building a private
library of off-air videotapes at home and retaining them for use in class
year after year. Teachers doing so are in violation of section
110 (1) of the copyright law in that they are using illegal copies.
Regular nightly news broadcasts may be taped and held indefinitely,
but special programs or weekly news programs such as 20/20 do not fall
under this provision.
The taping of programs shown on NJN or other educational channels are
regulated BY PROGRAM. (Example: CNN Newsroom can be taped
and held indefinitely, BUT a participating school must complete an enrollment
form. This enrollment form is the official license authorizing
the school to tape the program.) In the NJN Guide, each program
description includes if and for how long rerecorded copies may be used. Usually,
this time is until the end of the school year. Use of the tape
after that designated time is illegal. It is the responsibility
of the person or agency making the copies to erase them when the
license has expired.
TEACHER USE OF VIDEOTAPES
PURCHASED FROM A RETAIL STORE, RENTED
FROM A VIDEO STORE OR BORROWED FROM THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Unless specifically noted that the tape includes public
performance rights (and this is very rare), these tapes are home-use-only
tapes and cannot be used in a public setting, i.e. school. Ownership
of the tape does not grant any special rights.
The only way such a tape can be legally used in a school is if the provisions
of section 110 (2) are met. Specifically, the use must be “part
of a regular and systematic program of instruction” (content of the tape
must relate to a prescribed curriculum) and be “in the course of face-to-face
instruction.”
These tapes cannot be used for recreation, reward or entertainment.
SPECIAL NOTE: It is against federal law to copy videotapes obtained
from any AVA, public library or video store. These are illegal
copies and cannot be used in school The above described
exemption provisions do not apply to unlawfully produced tapes.
PARENTS SENDING IN VIDEOTAPES
FROM HOME
Off-air taping of a TV program:
To qualify under the Kastenmeir Guidelines, the tape made by the parent
must have been requested by the teacher. If no such request was
made, the copy cannot be used in school. If the teacher did request
the parent to do an off-air taping of a TV program, the resulting tape
is then subject to the regulations as stated above in teacher-made videotapes. (Ten
school days to use in class; erasure after 45 days.)
Copied from a tape from a video store or a public library:
It is totally in violation of federal copyright law to copy a home-use-only
videotape obtained from a rental store or a public library. THIS IS
AN ILLEGALLY MADE COPY AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES CAN BE USED IN A SCHOOL.
Purchased videotapes:
Such tapes do not usually include public performance rights and cannot be used
in school unless in the special exemption criteria outlined in Section 110
(2) are met.
Schools in Mount Laurel will not house, distribute or assist in the
copying of videotapes that violate copyright law. |
