Re: [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies
A very enthusiastic second to Terry's response. If we want to get into ethics as far as this matter is concerned, aren't those of us tasked with funding responsibilities charged with making the best use of our limited funds? To my mind, routinely spending money on rights you do not (by law) need raises ethical concerns. I might also be concerned about the copyright specialist's facility with exemptions that fall outside the scope of Fair Use (such as the Face-to-Face teaching exemption, the TEACH Act, DMCA, etc.) Just as there are many distributors who are ill-informed about PPR and the need for special 'educational' rights in the U.S., there are plenty of folks in academia who use the 'Fair Use' brush inelegantly (perhaps inappropriately). Good luck, -- Meghann Matwichuk, M.S. Associate Librarian Film and Video Collection Morris Library, University of Delaware 181 S. College Ave. Newark, DE 19717 (302) 831-1475 http://www.lib.udel.edu/filmandvideo On 6/15/2015 12:45 PM, Simpkins, Terry W. wrote: Hi Anna This issue crops up in various forms fairly frequently. First, however, a minor point of clarification. Classroom screenings are actually NOT “fair use” (17 U.S. Code § 107) https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107 but rather fall under a different section of the USCode relating limitations to exclusive rights, namely 17 U.S. Code § 110 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/110. This is actually a good thing, in my opinion, since you do not have to apply the (notoriously, albeit sometimes usefully, vague) “four factor” fair use test when it comes to face-to-face classroom screenings. Section 110 does, however, outline a variety of other conditions that need to be met, but these conditions are pretty straightforward to interpret. As for the ethicality of doing this: why on earth would it be /unethical/ to assert rights granted to you under the law? If you want to talk about what is or is not ethical, how about distributors who, whether through ignorance of the law or outright deceit, attempt to coerce or scare you into wasting your institutional resources by buying overpriced copies that come with PPR you may not need? At Middlebury, if we need PPR, we purchase PPR. If we don’t need PPR, we buy the lowest price copy we can legally acquire. Don’t overthink, and stand up for rights that are yours. Regards, Terry *Terry Simpkins* Director, Discovery Access Services Library Information Services Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753 (802) 443-5045 twsimp...@middlebury.edu mailto:twsimp...@middlebury.edu__ *From:*videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] *On Behalf Of *Anna Simon *Sent:* Monday, June 15, 2015 12:15 PM *To:* videolib@lists.berkeley.edu *Subject:* [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies Our library is currently re-writing its policy on buying institutional video. Under the guidance of our copyright specialist who says that classroom screenings fall under fair-use and do not require PPR (which are included in most institutional prices), our new policy is to buy the home-use copy of the DVD, if available, and not the institutional copy. Of course if a video will be screened outside a class, say at a film festival, we will upgrade to a PPR. At least one distributor has balked at this policy; another actually suggested we purchase at the home-use price when I mentioned I couldn't afford to buy all the videos I wanted from his company at the institutional price. Legally this seems sound, but I'm still unsure about ethically. Do other libraries have a policy on this spelled out? Do you always buy the institutional price/PPR if available, or do you try to source the video at the lowest possible price? If you do buy the institutional copy is it because you feel you *should* or another reason? Thanks for sharing. Library-logo-ES.png *Anna Simon * Collection, Research Instruction Librarian Art, Film, and Museum Studies 202-687-7467 ajs...@georgetown.edu mailto:ajs...@georgetown.edu Ars Hoya: GU Art Blog https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/ajs299/ Georgetown University Lauinger Library 37th O Sts. NW Washington, DC 20057 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
Re: [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies
Hi Anna This issue crops up in various forms fairly frequently. First, however, a minor point of clarification. Classroom screenings are actually NOT “fair use” (17 U.S. Code § 107)https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107 but rather fall under a different section of the USCode relating limitations to exclusive rights, namely 17 U.S. Code § 110https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/110. This is actually a good thing, in my opinion, since you do not have to apply the (notoriously, albeit sometimes usefully, vague) “four factor” fair use test when it comes to face-to-face classroom screenings. Section 110 does, however, outline a variety of other conditions that need to be met, but these conditions are pretty straightforward to interpret. As for the ethicality of doing this: why on earth would it be unethical to assert rights granted to you under the law? If you want to talk about what is or is not ethical, how about distributors who, whether through ignorance of the law or outright deceit, attempt to coerce or scare you into wasting your institutional resources by buying overpriced copies that come with PPR you may not need? At Middlebury, if we need PPR, we purchase PPR. If we don’t need PPR, we buy the lowest price copy we can legally acquire. Don’t overthink, and stand up for rights that are yours. Regards, Terry Terry Simpkins Director, Discovery Access Services Library Information Services Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753 (802) 443-5045 twsimp...@middlebury.edumailto:twsimp...@middlebury.edu From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Anna Simon Sent: Monday, June 15, 2015 12:15 PM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies Our library is currently re-writing its policy on buying institutional video. Under the guidance of our copyright specialist who says that classroom screenings fall under fair-use and do not require PPR (which are included in most institutional prices), our new policy is to buy the home-use copy of the DVD, if available, and not the institutional copy. Of course if a video will be screened outside a class, say at a film festival, we will upgrade to a PPR. At least one distributor has balked at this policy; another actually suggested we purchase at the home-use price when I mentioned I couldn't afford to buy all the videos I wanted from his company at the institutional price. Legally this seems sound, but I'm still unsure about ethically. Do other libraries have a policy on this spelled out? Do you always buy the institutional price/PPR if available, or do you try to source the video at the lowest possible price? If you do buy the institutional copy is it because you feel you *should* or another reason? Thanks for sharing. [Library-logo-ES.png] Anna Simon Collection, Research Instruction Librarian Art, Film, and Museum Studies 202-687-7467 ajs...@georgetown.edumailto:ajs...@georgetown.edu Ars Hoya: GU Art Bloghttps://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/ajs299/ Georgetown University Lauinger Library 37th O Sts. NW Washington, DC 20057 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] Library policy on buying institutional video copies
Our library is currently re-writing its policy on buying institutional video. Under the guidance of our copyright specialist who says that classroom screenings fall under fair-use and do not require PPR (which are included in most institutional prices), our new policy is to buy the home-use copy of the DVD, if available, and not the institutional copy. Of course if a video will be screened outside a class, say at a film festival, we will upgrade to a PPR. At least one distributor has balked at this policy; another actually suggested we purchase at the home-use price when I mentioned I couldn't afford to buy all the videos I wanted from his company at the institutional price. Legally this seems sound, but I'm still unsure about ethically. Do other libraries have a policy on this spelled out? Do you always buy the institutional price/PPR if available, or do you try to source the video at the lowest possible price? If you do buy the institutional copy is it because you feel you *should* or another reason? Thanks for sharing. [image: Library-logo-ES.png] *Anna Simon * Collection, Research Instruction Librarian Art, Film, and Museum Studies 202-687-7467 ajs...@georgetown.edu Ars Hoya: GU Art Blog https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/ajs299/ Georgetown University Lauinger Library 37th O Sts. NW Washington, DC 20057 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.
Re: [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies
Hi Anna (and all), I did want to ask a related question that may help Anna: has anyone successfully opted out or renegotiated rights from the major educational film distributors who have their PPR bundled into their educational price? For example: Film costs $400, for educational/PPR and you have renegotiated for X price as educational/no PPR? Regards, Laura Laura Jenemann Media, Film Studies, and Dance Librarian George Mason University 703-993-7593 ljene...@gmu.edu From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Anna Simon Sent: Monday, June 15, 2015 12:15 PM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies Our library is currently re-writing its policy on buying institutional video. Under the guidance of our copyright specialist who says that classroom screenings fall under fair-use and do not require PPR (which are included in most institutional prices), our new policy is to buy the home-use copy of the DVD, if available, and not the institutional copy. Of course if a video will be screened outside a class, say at a film festival, we will upgrade to a PPR. At least one distributor has balked at this policy; another actually suggested we purchase at the home-use price when I mentioned I couldn't afford to buy all the videos I wanted from his company at the institutional price. Legally this seems sound, but I'm still unsure about ethically. Do other libraries have a policy on this spelled out? Do you always buy the institutional price/PPR if available, or do you try to source the video at the lowest possible price? If you do buy the institutional copy is it because you feel you *should* or another reason? Thanks for sharing. [Library-logo-ES.png] Anna Simon Collection, Research Instruction Librarian Art, Film, and Museum Studies 202-687-7467 ajs...@georgetown.edumailto:ajs...@georgetown.edu Ars Hoya: GU Art Bloghttps://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/ajs299/ Georgetown University Lauinger Library 37th O Sts. NW Washington, DC 20057 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.
Re: [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies
I don't think you can opt out and I doubt you can renegotiate. You can try to see if the title is available without PPR rights for a lesser cost usually through sales to individuals. It should be noted that there are many films almost all non fiction that basically are educational films and have little or no market outside of educational institutions. I personally think things would be far less frustrating if these titles were never offered for individual sales.It is simply not financially possible to make these films on rarefied topics without selling them for a few hundred bucks to institutions but again offering them for individual sales just muddies the waters. I have often worked directly with filmmakers and always advised them NOT to offer these kinds of films for individual sale. In a few cases we received specific requests often from researchers and we made some special accommodation but never listed them for sale to individuals. However there is more confusion and frustration in what I would call films with a lot of educational interest but also retail and individual interest. Basically you can't really have your cake and eat it too, if a filmmaker or distributor wants to make money via retail and individual sales, they are going to have to expect institutions to buy it at the lower price unless they have a specific need for PPR. In many cases a film is released at higher price during the window' between its first release/showings before it is available for individual sales and eventual retail release for much less, generally in 3- 6 months. If you want it when it first comes out you pay a premium if you can wait, it will be less. I do think streaming rights offer a solution for some but not all of these situations . Need for PPR is rare (though without mentioning titles I work or have worked on some that do and should play outside of class) but need for streaming is increasing. I would think about negotiating to get streaming rights rather than PPR rights in cases where a title is not available at a lower cost. I think we all want filmmakers and independent distributors to be able to survive and it is pretty much impossible to do this if specialized mainly non fiction work sells for $30 to 100 institutions and 30 individuals. Both sides need to work together to find both a pricing and use system that works. This issue comes up around once a month. Perhaps there could be more discussions at ALA and NMM? Jessica On Mon, Jun 15, 2015 at 5:35 PM, Laura Jenemann ljene...@gmu.edu wrote: Hi Anna (and all), I did want to ask a related question that may help Anna: has anyone successfully opted out or renegotiated rights from the major educational film distributors who have their PPR bundled into their educational price? For example: Film costs $400, for educational/PPR and you have renegotiated for X price as educational/no PPR? Regards, Laura Laura Jenemann Media, Film Studies, and Dance Librarian George Mason University 703-993-7593 ljene...@gmu.edu *From:* videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] *On Behalf Of *Anna Simon *Sent:* Monday, June 15, 2015 12:15 PM *To:* videolib@lists.berkeley.edu *Subject:* [Videolib] Library policy on buying institutional video copies Our library is currently re-writing its policy on buying institutional video. Under the guidance of our copyright specialist who says that classroom screenings fall under fair-use and do not require PPR (which are included in most institutional prices), our new policy is to buy the home-use copy of the DVD, if available, and not the institutional copy. Of course if a video will be screened outside a class, say at a film festival, we will upgrade to a PPR. At least one distributor has balked at this policy; another actually suggested we purchase at the home-use price when I mentioned I couldn't afford to buy all the videos I wanted from his company at the institutional price. Legally this seems sound, but I'm still unsure about ethically. Do other libraries have a policy on this spelled out? Do you always buy the institutional price/PPR if available, or do you try to source the video at the lowest possible price? If you do buy the institutional copy is it because you feel you *should* or another reason? Thanks for sharing. [image: Library-logo-ES.png] *Anna Simon * Collection, Research Instruction Librarian Art, Film, and Museum Studies 202-687-7467 ajs...@georgetown.edu Ars Hoya: GU Art Blog https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/ajs299/ Georgetown University Lauinger Library 37th O Sts. NW Washington, DC 20057 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
