The format has nothing to do with rights...copyright included. The important thing (or at least one of the important things) to keep in mind is that "out of distribution" and "out of copyright" aren't the same thing. Take for example a defunct company such as Carousel Films: Carousel originally had the distribution rights to Selling of the Pentagon. The work was originally broadcast on CBS (I think). CBS undoubtedly still has the rights.
Got it? gary handman > We still have a small collection of 16mm films. A local historical > society has contacted the branch manager where we house these films and > asked if they could send some high school students over to view material > in some of these films. (The films can't be checked out; only used > on-site.) If they want to use any footage from these films, what > information do we need to give them regarding copyright? They are under > the impression that, if the company that originally made the film is out > of business, they are free to use footage from the film as long as they > give proper credit. This doesn't sound right to me; could that be true? > I have three books on copyright for librarians on my desk, none of which > seems to be addressing this question. If you can give me the legal > citation or something official that we can pass along to them, that would > certainly be helpful. > > Thanks in advance, > Vicki Nesting > St. Charles Parish Library > Destrehan, Louisiana > > 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 ghand...@library.berkeley.edu 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.
