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. 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.
