Cf. the law:
§ 110 · Limitations on exclusive rights:
Exemption of certain performances and displays
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not
infringements
of copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work
by instructors or pupils
in the course of face-to-face teaching activities
of a nonprofit educational institution,
in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction,
unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the
performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy
that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible
for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made;
I do not have answers for many of Laura's questions, but here are comments on a
few:
1) Distributors may interpret face-to-face instruction differently from how
libraries interpret this. For example: "screening a regular consumer DVD in a
classroom is a violation of copyright law, as stated by the Warning Screen that
appears before the movie." (See
http://johnsaylesblog.com/amigo-dvd-release/)
YES.
Distributors who are more wise may ask librarians to sign a contract
waiving, and then repurchasing, the right specified above.
Also, librarians and educators may feel that not all the provisions
listed above are necessary to make a film screening educational, while
distributors quite justifiably feel that these restrictions must be observed.
2) Moving image distributors may interpret right of first sale differently than
librarians.
Much depends on the decision in Kirtsaeng vs. Wiley (in which the
meaning of "lawfully made under this title" could be interpreted to mean
"lawfully made in the USA," handing over control of any item susceptible of a
copyrighted element to the manufacturer if the item is made abroad), decision
pending in the Supreme Court.
But the movement towards online access is a movement towards
eliminating the object over which the purchaser has these rights.
3) Are libraries and librarians in face-to-face instruction scenarios
purchasing copyrights they already have at a cost of thousands of dollars? YES,
if a legal copy is available at a smaller price.
4) Is it possible that libraries are unnecessarily giving back their Amazon
documentaries and re-purchasing at higher costs when they receive letters like
Mary's? YES.
As Jessica pointed out, a copy purchased on Amazon is a legal copy
("lawfully made") for classroom purposes.
The only way a distributor can charge an institutional price is by
making that the only means of purchasing the video (i.e. no individual is
likely to be able to afford a copy).
On the other hand, if the institutional price includes extra rights
(e.g. to show the film for free to the general public or student body), then
the library may feel that the price is worth it.
Judy Shoaf
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.
