Copyright at the Seminary

Possession of a film or video does not automatically confer the right to show the work, nor does access to it online via a streaming service. The copyright owner specifies, at the time of purchase or licensing, the circumstances in which a film or video may be "performed". For example,most DVDs usually bear a label that specifies "Home Use Only". Whatever their labeling or licensing, use of these media is permitted in an educational institution so long as certain conditions are met. William Smith Morton Library retains an umbrella license for many films to be shown on the Richmond campus only; however, such usage *must* be approved by the Director of the Instructional Resource Center.

Section 110 (1) of the Copyright Act of 1976 specifies that the following is permitted:
“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...and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made.”
Additional text of the Copyright Act and portions of the House Report (94-1476)combine to provide the following, more detailed list of conditions, all of which must be met [from“What Educators Should Know About Copyright,” by Virginia M. Helm; Bloomington, IN, Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1986]:

1. They must be shown as part of the instructional program.
2. They must be shown by students, instructors, or guest lecturers.
3. They must be shown either in a classroom or other school location devoted to instruction such as a studio, workshop, library, gymnasium, or auditorium if it is used for instruction.
4. They must be shown either in a face-to-face setting or where students and teacher(s) are in the same building or general area.
5. They must be shown only to students and educators.
6. They must be shown using a legally reproduced copy including the copyright notice.

Further, the relationship between the film or video and the course must be explicit. Films or videos, even in a "face-to-face" classroom setting,may not be used for entertainment or recreation, whatever the work's intellectual content.

Besides use in classrooms, videocassettes, videodiscs, and streamed films that are owned or licensed by the Seminary may ordinarily be viewed by students, faculty or staff at workstations or in small-group rooms in the Library. These videos may also be viewed at home (e.g., in a dorm room), so long as no more than a few friends are involved. Larger audiences, such as groups that might assemble in a residence hall living room, require explicit permission from the copyright owner for "public performance" rights or fall under the Library’s umbrella license. Such cases must be reviewed and approved by the Director of the Instructional Resource Center.