Copyright Guidelines

 

VI.  Audiovisual Materials

 

C.  Copying Television Programs Off the Air for Classroom Use

 

The following rules of thumb for copying television programs off the air for classroom use should be followed to ensure compliance with the fair use doctrine. The rules below do not apply to programs shown on pay cable or pay TV.

 

These rules of thumb are reprinted with permission from "A Guide to Copyright Issues in Higher Education," National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), 4^th Ed. (1997).⁵

 

• Off-the-air recordings may be used only once by individual teachers in the course of "time-shifting" the program in order for it to be seen in the class.  After the program is seen once, it should be erased.

• The off-the-air recordings should be shown in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction.

• A limited number of copies may be reproduced from each off-air recording to meet the legitimate needs of teachers under these guidelines.  Each such additional copy shall be subject to all provisions governing the original recording.

• Off-the-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but they may not be altered from their original content.  They may not be physically or electronically combined or merged to constitute teaching anthologies or compilations.

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⁵ These rules of thumb are based on the 1979 "Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes," contained in the House Report on Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments (H.R. No. 495, 97^th Cong., 1^st Sess. at 8-9), as well as the more liberal Supreme Court decision in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 (1984).



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