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Copyright Information & Guidelines

This guide for the Bentley University community presents information on copyright and provides guidance in the use of copyrighted material in higher education and scholarship.

Using Motion Media Content

When you want to perform, display, or show a film, video, or TV program, whether it be as part of a course, at a group or club activity, at an organization event, or as a training exercise, you have to consider the rights of the those who own the copyright to the work you want to use. In most cases however, fair use would allow for the use of audio content for educational purposes. Below is guidance on permissible uses of copyrighted content in teaching, research, and scholarship.

If such use is intended outside of the classroom, such as at a group or club activity or at an organization event, then Public Performance Rights will need to be obtained.

Guidelines

The following are two sets of guidelines that are often cited as ideal tools with which to measure the use of copyrighted multimedia content in course-related instruction or scholarship. These guidelines both use the concepts of brevity, spontaneity and cumulative effect to illustrate what may or may not be a fair use. They suggest numerical limits as the minimum standards of educational fair use.

  • Classroom Guidelines - Developed by the Ad Hoc Committee of Educational Institutions and Organizations on Copyright Law Revision, the Authors League of America, Inc., and the Association of American Publishers.
The following are the primary conditions outlined in both sets of guidelines that should be considered when using multimedia resources:

Permissible Uses

  • Educators may incorporate portions of lawfully acquired copyrighted works when producing their own educational multimedia projects for their own teaching tools in support of curriculum-based instructional activities at educational institutions.
  • Educators may use their educational multimedia projects created for educational purposes for a period of up to two years after the first instructional use with a class. Use beyond that time period, even for educational purposes, requires permission for each copyrighted portion incorporated in the production. 
  • Emergency copying to replace purchased copies which for any reason are not available for an imminent performance provided purchased replacement copies shall be substituted in due course.
  • Up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, in the aggregate of a copyrighted motion media work may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of an educational multimedia project.

Prohibited Uses

  • Copying to create or replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works.
  • Copying for the purpose of performance, except as in permissible uses (1) above.
  • Copying for the purpose of substituting for the purchase of a motion picture, except as in permissible uses (1) above.
  • Copying without inclusion of the copyright notice which appears on the printed copy.
  • Using multimedia Projects for non-educational or commercial purposes.
  • Duplication and distribution of multimedia projects beyond classroom limitations.

Best Practices

There have emerged in recent years a number of Codes of Best Practices in Fair Use that relate specifically to the educational use of multimedia resources. Below are two such codes that address the specific research and pedagogical needs of film and media studies and should be consulted when appropriate and in concert with previously established guidelines to facilitate a thorough evaluation of the use of copyrighted multimedia content.

Employing Copyrighted Material in Media Literacy Lessons

PRINCIPLE: Under fair use, educators using the concepts and techniques of media literacy can choose illustrative material from the full range of copyrighted sources and make them available to learners, in class, in workshops, in informal mentoring and teaching settings, and on school-related Web sites.

LIMITATIONS: Educators should choose material that is germane to the project or topic, using only what is necessary for the educational goal or purpose for which it is being made. In some cases, this will mean using a clip or excerpt; in other cases, the whole work is needed. Whenever possible, educators should provide proper attribution and model citation practices that are appropriate to the form and context of use. Where illustrative material is made available in digital formats, educators should provide reasonable protection against third-party access and downloads.

Employing Copyrighted Material in Preparing Curriculum Materials

PRINCIPLE: Under fair use, educators using the concepts and techniques of media literacy can integrate copyrighted material into curriculum materials, including books, workbooks, podcasts, DVD compilations, videos, Web sites, and other materials designed for learning.

LIMITATIONS: Wherever possible, educators should provide attribution for quoted material, and of course they should use only what is necessary for the educational goal or purpose. The materials should meet professional standards for curriculum development, with clearly stated educational objectives, a description of instructional practices, assignments, and assessment criteria.