Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California
Copyright Law - H.S. Video Production
I'm a high school video production
teacher in southern California. I
want to do a lot for the school and
my class, however the
administration is short on answers
for the questions I have.
1. I would like to show movies to
help supplement the class. However,
a few things come up. Beside the
district rules, if the movie is not part
of the library, I cannot show it in its
entirety. If I just wanted to show a
part of a movie would I be ok? I
heard that the newer Digital Media
Act makes a stipulation for film
professors. Might a high school
teacher be given the same privilege
as well?
2. I would like to do a film club. I
would show a film and we analyze it.
From the way I've been reading rules
and such, this doesn't seem possible
at all because of copyright law unless
the movie is already a part of the
library.
3. I'm planning to do a video
yearbook to supplement the real
yearbook. Students would like to
use songs by popular artists in sync
with their footage. Since we plan on
selling the video yearbook, we could
run into copyright again. What could
I do to fix this problem? How would
I go about finding out more
information?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Copyright Law - H.S. Video Production
I recently discussed some of these issues on my podcast.. lawandvideo.com
Some quick answers,
1. Given the educational purpose of your use, you MIGHT succeed in a FAIR USE defense, particularly if you're showing only a part of a film.... but remember, this is a DEFENSE, so by the time the issue arises, there's already a copyright infringement action happening. It's probably easier to get permission from the copyright holders, and your school district should be able to do this fairly simply.
2. Film Club. Generally, showing a DVD to a group of people outside of "personal, home use" is prohibited. Again, it's probably possible to get special permission from the film's distributor. It's worth asking.
3. Video yearbook with pop songs. Definitely a copyright matter. Each individual song must be cleared by both the publisher AND the Record Label. This will be ALOT of work. Better to use blanket-licensed "Production music". If you check around, you'll find lots of good Prodction Music Libraries available.
Re: Copyright Law - H.S. Video Production
Once simple approach is to remember that purely educational use in an institution is almost never going to be challenged but use for profit probably would be challenged by the holder of the rights at issue.
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