The sad thing is that many filmmakers are genuinely ignorant of copyright law. Many sincerely believe that institutions must have special rights & pay more to use a film in an academic setting. Needless to say the flip side are professors who believe they can copy, stream, download any film because they need it for academic reasons. I honestly hope that streaming rights are in fact the magic bullet that can bridge this gap. The distributor and or filmmaker makes enough to cover costs, and the institution can legally stream it like the professors want. We just have to figure out that little pricing issue.
Jessica On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 5:04 PM, May, Margery <[email protected]> wrote: > I read the emails with interest, and now have these experiences to > relate: > > > > I ordered a DVD which did **not** show individual/institutional pricing > from a dealer on Amazon. The dealer cancelled my order & then sent me an > email with a link to his web site, saying that since we’re a library, we had > to order it there. I didn’t think it was fair that he could post something > on Amazon and then refuse to sell it to certain customers. I’m letting > Amazon know. > > > > I also found another DVD on Amazon which the dealer had listed with both an > individual & an institutional price. Nothing daunted by the above > experience, I ordered the individual one. That dealer filled the order > without comment. > > > > And finally, I found & ordered a DVD which said nothing about institutional > orders. The order was filled, but today I received a nice, somewhat > plaintive letter from the director/dealer, saying he thought only > individuals would buy from Amazon & that libraries would go to his web > site. He’s hoping I’ll pay the difference. He’s very nice & polite, and > admits he’s new to selling his work. I’m nonplussed as to how to answer his > letter, but suppose I will come up with some diplomatic way of telling him > that if he lists things on Amazon, anyone can buy them, and that I feel no > necessity for paying the difference, while appreciating the struggles of > independent filmmakers. > > > > MM > > > > Margery L. May > Acquisitions Administrator > Wesleyan University Library > Acquisitions Department > Olin Memorial Library > 252 Church Street > Middletown, CT 06459 > 860-685-3834 > [email protected] > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues > relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, > preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and > related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective > working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication > between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and > distributors. > >
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
