Copyright Laws for Video Duplication
Title 17 in the United States Code provides the general framework for our modern copyright laws based on the Copyright Act of 1976. While numerous amendments have been made to help keep abreast of changing distribution technologies since 1976, the core laws set in place to protect distributors from unlawful film and video duplication have remained largely unchanged.
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Exclusive Rights of Owners
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Section 106 of Title 17 gives broad protection to registered copyright owners of recorded content, whether in the form of records, motion pictures or other electronic media, such as videotape. Section 106 stipulates that it is up to the owner's sole discretion to determine how the recording is to be reproduced. Not only does the owner have complete control over duplication, but also public presentation.
Fair Use
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Exceptions to Section 106 are described in Section 107, commonly referred to as the "Fair Use" clause. Fair use of protected recordings relates to the excerpting or quotation of protected content for the purpose of providing criticism, commentary, news coverage, classroom study or scholarship. Also included is a provision for libraries to duplicate portions of original protected recordings to replace portions of damaged copies.
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Factors Limiting Application of Fair Use Exemptions
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Several important factors are described that should be taken into consideration before portions of a work can be copied under the Fair Use exemption. These considerations include whether or not the duplicated excerpt was clearly used by a nonprofit educational institution and the amount of the work that was excerpted in relation to the entirety of the work. This consideration also dovetails into additional language found in Section 107 that includes consideration for any potential damage to the market value of the work. These considerations severely limit duplication that can be considered fair use by weighing the percentage of the duplicated work against the overall length of the protected recording and whether or not the use of the recorded material can be demonstrated to have reduced potential commercial sales of the recording.
Limitations on Exclusive Rights
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Further limitations to Exclusive Rights of Owners described in Section 106 exist in Section 110 of Title 17. These limitations further articulate exemptions specific to instructional use of protected recordings in the classroom setting of recognized educational institutions.
Public Domain
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A mistaken assumption is often made that if the content of a video recording includes material in the public domain (original works created before 1923 or not otherwise renewed after 1923), then the video recording containing the public domain content can be duplicated at will. However, a copyright is registered for a specific recording, regardless of the content. In other words, you cannot duplicate a copyright-protected recording of public domain content without specific permission from the copyright owner of the recording.
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References
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