Hi Vicky The short answer is--NO, she cannot legally transfer a WHOLE film to DVD. The longer answer is--YES, she can extract clips from the vhs and use them in teaching.
Clipping from VHS to DVD is more than a bit cumbersome, however. It involves: 1. An analog/digital capture device--a little black box that has video in from a VCR player and video out to a computer. (see, for e.g., http://www.amazon.com/Canopus-77010150100-ADVC110-Converter/dp/B00030ATTO) 2. A software package (iMovie, Premiere, MovieMaker, etc) that will ingest the video onto your computer and let you edit it. Such packages let you clip precise segments, scenes, or still images. Showing clips either locally or remotely will definitely hold up under both fair use and TEACH. Copying and/or showing WHOLE works, not... gary handman > Dear Video Libbers - > I have an instructor that wants to take clips out of a film. > She claims she can do it (read about the Library of Congress exemption). > I claim she can't. > > The film in question is on VHS and she wants the whole film put onto a DVD > so she can clip out the needed sections on her computer. Is there a > middle ground? Could only the sections she wants be put onto DVD, > (changing the amount copied to make the claim that this is a "fair use" > situation) or would the digitization still be a copyright violation? > > To complicate the issue, she teaches both distance and face to face > classes. Will what is allowed for one circumstance be forbidden from the > other? > > Please help! I need your reasoned & informed opinions! > Vicky Maloy > > > 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. > Gary Handman Director Media Resources Center Moffitt Library UC Berkeley 510-643-8566 [email protected] http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC "I have always preferred the reflection of life to life itself." --Francois Truffaut 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.
