Park falls school district

© fair use guidelines

 

DUPLICATION OF COMMERCIALLY-PRODUCED A/V MATERIALS

 

SCENARIO/QUESTION:

 

Is it permissible to duplicate commercially-produced A/V materials?

 

DEFINITION OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS:    

 

According to Copyright Applies to Everyone, “audio-visual materials include, but are not limited to, filmstrips, slides, mixed-media kits, motion pictures (e.g., 16mm, VHS, DVD), video games (e.g., Sega, Nintendo), laserdiscs, and sound recordings (in all formats).” (http://www.dese.state.mo.us/divimprove/curriculum/copyright/finaldoc.pdf) 

 

EXAMPLES OF DUPLICATION:

 

  1. Making an archival copy of a personally-owned movie.
  2. Making a copy of a damaged district-owned audio cassette.

 

SCENARIO ANSWER:

 

  1. No.  According to the “Technology and Learning Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines”, duplication may only occur “for archival purposes or to replace lost, damaged, or stolen copies”. In addition, “material must be legitimately acquired.  Material must be used in a classroom or nonprofit environment ‘dedicated to face-to-face instruction.’  Use should be instructional, not for entertainment or reward.”  Since it is difficult for district staff to determine if a piece of non-district-owned, commercially-produced, audio-visual material was legitimately acquired and is truly being copied for archival purposes, and since all other copying is prohibited, there will be no copying of personally-owned, commercially-produced audio-visual materials.
  2. No.  According to the “Technology and Learning Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines” fine print, the only way copying is okay is “if replacements are unavailable at a fair price or in a viable format.”

 

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

 

In both examples, the solution is to purchase commercially-produced duplicates or replacements.

 

 

 

 

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES:

 

  1. There is a $500 to $150,000 penalty per infringement plus attorney fees, and “willful infringement means that you knew you were infringing and you did it anyway.  Ignorance of the law, though, is no excuse.  If you don’t know that are infringing, you still will be liable for damages.” (http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm; http://www.nolo.com/index.cfm)
  2. In addition to the civil penalties noted above, the infringement could be deemed as a criminal offense punishable by a fine or imprisonment. (http://www.nolo.com/index.cfm)
  3. The infringement is a violation of Park Falls School District’s copyright policy, adopted on June 2004, which states that all employees and students “will comply with copyright regulations as identified in the U.S. copyright law,” and “materials in all print and media forms may not be unlawfully duplicated or used within the District.  Any employees or students who illegally use copyrighted material will be responsible for their own actions and the consequences thereof.”

 

ACTION TAKEN BY DISTRICT:

 

  1. We denied permission to make a copy of a personally-owned movie.
  2. We investigated the purchase of a new audio cassette to replace the damaged one.

 

Date:   1/16/06

 

Entry #   2