Nor does this contribute to "clear understanding" in any way.
And asserting that this something (ill-defined and subject of much debate - i.e. a moving target) does not "threaten content owners" does not make it so. "Content owners" are a diverse lot, as are their rights and interests. I can tell you this, for example: in my experience over 30+ years, the #1 way that people (and companies) try and avoid paying for someone else's work in the film/TV business, is to argue "fair use". And, that trend is only increasing. I write this as someone who worked w/ Marlon Riggs and on the distribution of COLOR ADJUSTMENT, a film that could exist and be shown at all only because of Fair Use. I can also testify to the increasing claim of "Fair use" by e.g. PBS stations, well funded independent filmmakers, etc. to avoid paying for other peoples footage and work. Why not? If you can get away with it, as long as it does not gore your ox, why not? This is not a dis interested discussion or argument. (and on at least one other level not addressed). JM From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Patricia Aufderheide Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 9:39 AM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Videolib] ACRL Best Practices Thank you for noticing that fair use does not threaten content owners. Indeed, most of us are content owners, after all. One of the benefits of having clear understandings at the level of professional practice about fair use is that it reduces marketplace friction, and makes it easier for content holders to clearly identify when uses might reasonably exceed fair use. At the same time, fair use enables content creation at every point. You couldn't have documentary film or journalism without it, and those are communities that are legitimately and correctly passionate about ownership rights. On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 4:12 PM, Bob Norris <b...@filmideas.com> wrote: Three cheers to Gary for sticking up for the content owners. Bob Film Ideas, Inc. On Jan 30, 2012, at 2:55 PM, videolib-requ...@lists.berkeley.edu wrote: When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of videolib digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: ACRL Best Practices (ghand...@library.berkeley.edu) From: ghand...@library.berkeley.edu Date: January 30, 2012 10:50:13 AM CST To: pauf...@american.edu, videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Videolib] ACRL Best Practices Reply-To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Thanks, Pat (and thanks again for spearheading the development of these guidelines) I am a still a bit concerned about the e-reserves section--the limitations and enhancements not withstanding. If I am reading this section correctly, almost any full-length copyrighted video work that is central to the curriculum ("the instructor's pedagogical purpose") could conceivable be digitized and streamed for use in face-to-face classroom teaching under the banner of "transformative use" (I screen Avatar in an ethnic studies class to discuss metaphors of imperialism, bingo! Transformative!) It seems to me that this particular section ignores (or at least attempt to trump) the established tests of fair use, as, for example, cases in which a content owner/provider that has an existing or potential significant economic stake in making content available online. Thanks as always for your views and input. Gary Handman Thank you for reading these! 1) In terms of e-reserves (section 1), it's really important to read both the limitations and the enhancements. They qualify that general assertion, and make clear that you need a transformative purpose, which in the case of e-reserves would be appropriate to the course. You can also see that there are limitations regarding the type of material as well. And of course appropriate amount, as the general material in the code stresses, is always an issue. *LIMITATIONS * Closer scrutiny should be applied to uses of content created and marketed primarily for use in courses such as the one at issue (e.g., a textbook, workbook, or anthology designed for the course). Use of more than a brief excerpt from such works on digital networks is unlikely to be transformative and therefore unlikely to be a fair use. The availability of materials should be coextensive with the duration of the course or other time-limited use (e.g., a research project) for which they have been made available at an instructor's direction. Only eligible students and other qualified persons (e.g., professors' graduate assistants) should have access to materials. Materials should be made available only when, and only to the extent that, there is a clear articulable nexus between the instructor's pedagogical purpose and the kind and amount of content involved. Libraries should provide instructors with useful information about the nature and the scope of fair use, in order to help them make informed requests. When appropriate, the number of students with simultaneous access to online materials may be limited. Students should also be given information about their rights and responsibilities regarding their own use of course materials. Full attribution, in a form satisfactory to scholars in the field, should be provided for each work included or excerpted. *ENHANCEMENTS:* The case for fair use is enhanced when libraries prompt instructors, who are most likely to understand the educational purpose and transformative nature of the use, to indicate briefly in writing why particular material is requested, and why the amount requested is appropriate to that pedagogical purpose. An instructor's justification can be expressed via standardized forms that provide a balanced menu of common or recurring fair use rationales. In order to assure the continuing relevance of those materials to course content, libraries should require instructors of recurrently offered courses to review posted materials and make updates as appropriate. 2) In terms of copying to preserve (e.g. VHS to DVD), again it's important to look at the limitations; in this area, the existence of commercial availability is the very first reference. This is a transformative purpose, in the sense that this material, which had been unuseable for teaching purposes (usually what drives such a decision is a teacher's need for materials that are either fragile or that no longer have players in the classroom) is made useful again. This clause in no way undercuts a distributor's ability to offer a commercial service, and in no way does it give librarians a blank check to copy over their collections wholesale from format to format. You know, most librarians don't want to spend their time transferring material from obsolete formats, and at the end of the day getting poor-resolution copies with limited functionality. Really. *LIMITATIONS*: Preservation copies should not be made when a fully equivalent digital copy is commercially available at a reasonable cost. Libraries should not provide access to or circulate original and preservation copies simultaneously. Off-premises access to preservation copies circulated as substitutes for original copies should be limited to authenticated members of a library's patron community, e.g., students, faculty, staff, affiliated scholars, and other accredited users. Full attribution, in a form satisfactory to scholars in the field, should be provided for all items made available online, to the extent it can be determined with reasonable effort. *ENHANCEMENTS:* Fair use claims will be enhanced when libraries take technological steps to limit further redistribution of digital surrogates, e.g., by streaming audiovisual media, using appropriately lower-resolution versions, or using watermarks on textual materials and images. Fair use claims will be further enhanced when libraries provide copyright owners a simple tool for registering objections to use of digital surrogates, such as an e-mail address associated with a full-time employee. 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. -- Pat Aufderheide, University Professor and Director Center for Social Media, School of Communication American University 3201 New Mexico Av. NW, #330 Washington, DC 20016-8080 www.centerforsocialmedia.org pauf...@american.edu 202-643-5356 Order Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright, with Peter Jaszi. University of Chicago Press, 2011. <http://www.amazon.com/Reclaiming-Fair-Use-Balance-Copyright/dp/0226032280/r ef=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321544105&sr=8-2> Sample <http://centerforsocialmedia.org/reclaiming> Reclaiming Fair Use! Early comments on Reclaiming Fair Use: "The Supreme Court has told us that fair use is one of the "traditional safeguards" of the First Amendment. As this book makes abundantly clear, nobody has done better work making sure that safeguard is actually effective than Aufderheide and Jaszi. The day we have a First Amendment Hall of Fame, their names should be there engraved in stone. --Lewis Hyde, author, Common as Air: Revolution, Art and Ownership "Reclaiming Fair Use will be an important and widely read book that scholars of copyright law will find a 'must have' for their bookshelves. It is a sound interpretation of the law and offers useful guidance to the creative community that goes beyond what some of the most ideological books about copyright tend to say."-Pamela Samuelson, University of California, Berkeley School of Law "If you only read one book about copyright this year, read Reclaiming Fair Use. It is the definitive history of the cataclysmic change in the custom and practice surrounding the fair use of materials by filmmakers and other groups." --Michael Donaldson, Esq. Senior Partner, Donaldson & Callif, Los Angeles.
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.
