Nahum, I misspoke when I summarized the law.
When you sell a copy, your right to control how the buyer disposes of that particular copy is exhausted. However, other rights remain with you. The buyer does *not* get the right to make copies of the DVD, show it in public or on TV, or adapt it in some way. You control those rights. If you licensed PPR with the DVD, that license should specify whether the license is transferable or not. If it is not transferable, it cannot be given away or resold etc. It is a contract to which, presumably, the purchasing institution or individual agreed at the time of sale. The physical DVD can be given away or loaned. You can slap all the labels you want on it that say "for private home use only" but it is still subject to first sale (including loans or even rentals) and fair use. The buyer and any subsequent legal owner, have rights of fair use. For example, they could quote a bit of dialogue in a written review, or refer to factual material contained in the film, citing the source. If the DVD is not copy-protected, they could rip an image or a brief segment for purposes of illustration. Also, they could show the entire film to a class. I realize you are frustrated because you believe very deeply that you ought to have the right to charge more to an institution which will allow many people to borrow the DVD and watch it at home, or watch it in a group in a class. However, American law allows libraries to lend any legally made copy they acquire, and schools to show any legally made copy in the classroom. They do not need any kind of license to do these things, and the right to do them is not changed by your saying that you want them to pay more for them. The tiered pricing system does not have to do with a difference between books and DVDs; in fact, there is a tiered pricing system for scholarly journals, which charge libraries a lot more for a subscription. The difference is between media that can make a lot of money by selling lots of copies for a smaller profit, and media that has a small market and needs to make a good profit on each sale. A Hollywood film may cost $200,000,000 to make, but when it becomes available on DVD the library can buy a copy for $25, just like everybody else. Your film may have cost much less to make but your budget model depends on being able to sell X number of copies for $250 each to libraries, so the libraries have to include that amount in their budgets if they want to buy your films. And of course the library would probably have your film than 10 Spiderman films at $25 each. But you can't blame a librarian for being delighted to have some expensive documentaries donated to the library. As Jessica pointed out, if you keep track of the copies you send for previews, and arrange to have them returned, you will know those copies are not being used in ways you don't intend. 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.
