The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy

I had a huge fight because our school librarian always asks me if the movie I’m going to show is in my lesson plans. I don’t think it’s any of her business, but she says she can be sued if I’m not using the movie for educational purposes. Then how can any library check out any movie without worrying about potential liability. I’m still angry because my principal backed her up. I use movies that go with the novels I teach, and sometimes I have used movies for writing assignments, but I don’t think it’s the librarian’s place to question me. What’s the truth here?

I have been a school librarian for years and I can tell you that, indeed, librarians hate to be seen as the copyright police. However, they also see flagrant violations of fair use all the time. It is her business if a video is being borrowed from the library for which the library has not purchased a public-performance license and then the video gets used for a non-curricular usage.The copyright literature implies frequently that a librarian can be held personally liable as can the teacher and the principal.
I think school librarians are more aware of this than ever because we are now in a global economy. You never know if a student in your classroom has a parent who works for Sony or Disney - even if you are in a small town in Kansas! The likelihood of being questioned and challenged by a producer of film is greater than it has ever been. Besides, it is the schools role to teach students to be socially and ethically responsible by modeling that behavior.
Also - be aware that public libraries purchase distribution rights that you would not purchase if you were to buy a video from a store. That allows them to lend video to their library community. School libraries generally do not purchase those rights because they are expensive. They buy the video for the lower price and add it to the library collection with the understanding that it will be used for educational purposes in a face-to-face teaching environment only.
As long as your video use falls under “fair use” - which it sounds like it does, why shouldn’t you be questioned by anyone? A parent, principal or colleague? It sounds to me like your librarian is doing her job. Maybe not in a nice way, but still. It’s too bad that your relationship with this person is damaged - it doesn’t need to be a “huge fight”.

As long as you’re showing it in the context of classroom education, you’re almost certainly okay, and the defense of fair use (which would also work) is not even necessary.

The law states, in remarkably clear terms, that the performance of copyrighted works in the classroom for the purpose of face-to-face instruction is not a copyright infringement. Title 17, Section 110 of the US Code reads, in part:

§110. Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not infringements of copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made.

That is remarkably clear. The reliance on “fair use” (the incredibly unclear exception found in Section 107) is an appropriate defense in other settings--and again, it would work here. But unless you were showing them the film to avoid face-to-face teaching (unlikely), or the library obtained a bootleg copy of the film (even less likely), Section 110 is all you need in this circumstance.

Fair use is by far the most important defense against charges of copyright infringement, but it is not the only one. The law gives teachers a pass here, and there’s no requirement that it be on the lesson plan in advance.

As to whether your principal or librarian wants you to fill out Form 15J in triplicate, avowing that you will only use it in face-to-face interaction--sadly the law cannot stop them from doing that.

Is it or is it not copyright infringement for a student to create a podcast that is published on a public school Web site, whereby she is reading a book? Educational purposes - fair use?  Date of original copyright?  Thanks for any input!

We have a Public Performance Site License at each of our schools. It has saved our school librarians from being the media police. At 333.00 per school it is a bargain. We can show movies at anytime as long as we do not charge to watch it.

We need to be aware of copyright issues. We need to set a good example for our students.  Students need to know that some things can be used for educational purposes, but when they get out in the “real” world, they will need to ask permission for things they wish to use or pay a fee. If we were the owners of the copyright, we would want to be paid. This is the strategy I use with our teachers and we seem to get along fine.