The Best of Copyright and VideoLib

This article provides responses to five copyright scenarios—institutional pricing, the face-to-face classroom, video copying and replacement, film clips and streaming video—that are frequently faced by librarians who manage and acquire media. Copyright is a particularly complex area for librarians who work with media. Frequently, librarians are confused about the legality of certain uses of media. This confusion is magnified when vendors sell licenses to librarians when they are not necessary. The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002 is a convoluted law that many view as a restriction of fair use rights. Fair use is a copyright exception that can be applied to all of the exclusive rights of copyright including public performances and digital transmissions. This article also suggests that behavior affects how we interpret the law.