Copyright questions about different formats (data, images, music and video) can be especially difficult. Sometimes the law specifically distinguishes between these different formats, and in most cases there are media-specific considerations that impact a copyright analysis. In this course we will look at four different media, paying special attention to the unique issues for each one and the kinds of information that is important when making copyright decisions for each type of material. We will work through fair use issues for each multimedia format, look at format-specific exceptions in the law, and consider unique issues for seeking permission for film, music, images and data. At the end of this course, participants will have a deeper understanding of how to apply our framework for making copyright decisions, and will be more comfortable with assessing multimedia issues. They will have gained more and more diverse experience for considering fair use.
Anti-Circumvention
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From the course by Duke University
Copyright for Multimedia
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From the lesson
Film and Video
Copyright issues for film tend to be complicated because of the number of creators and creative works that come together to make them. In this module, students will learn to apply the fundamentals of copyright with regard to film. Topics covered include identification of the various rights and rights holders involved in many films, the role of copyright exceptions when creating or using film in educational settings, and when and how to seek permission to make use of copyrighted material in films.
Meet the Instructors
Kevin Smith, M.L.S., J.D.Former Director, Copyright and Scholarly Communication
Duke University Libraries
Lisa A. Macklin, J.D.,M.L.S.Director, Scholarly Communications Office
Robert W. Woodruff Library, Emory University
Anne Gilliland, JD, MLSScholarly Communications Officer
University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In this video we're gonna talk about anti circumvention rules for video.
As you already know Ann, many if not most DVDs that are sold today come encrypted
with software that prevents someone from making copies and distributing them.
Without paying for additional copies.
It a way the content providers protect the content on the DVDs.
So it makes it impossible, or at least difficult for the buyer to
impinge on any of the rights holder's exclusive rights, distribution, etc.
But it also makes it impossible for the buyer to exercise any of
the exceptions to these exclusive rights, exceptions like fair use, etc.
So we'll start from the point where the educator has looked at the four factors of
fair use, which we've discussed in another video and
concluded that their use is a fair use.
So what is that educator to do if he or she wants to reproduce part of a movie,
picture, DVD for educational use, in teaching film for example?
But the DVD carries rights protection software to prevent that copying.
What if a student or
an artist wants to copy portions of a movie to use in another film?
And those portions would be considered a fair use.
So, let's look at some of the rules around anti circumvention.
Those can be found in section 1201 and we'll talk first about 1201 A1A.
And that is that no person shall circumvent a technological measure
that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.
So that's the broad rule that we have and there are some definitions within that.
One of them is circumvent a technological measure
which means to descramble a scrambled work.
To decrypt an encrypted work, or otherwise to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate,
or impair a technological measure without the authority of the copyright owner.
So lots of no, no, no, no.
And a technological measure effectively controls access to a work if the measure,
in the ordinary course of its operation,
requires the application of information or process or treatment
with the authority of the copyright owner to gain access to the work.
So we're actually probably pretty familiar with some of these technological
measures even if we don't quite know that that's what we call them.
So there are thankfully a few exceptions to this general rule and statute.
And they're mostly there for security and also for research purposes.
So one of them worth mentioning is a exception that allows
staff at a nonprofit library, worth focusing on that nonprofit piece.
Archives or educational institutions to break encryption, quote solely in order
to make a good faith determination of whether to acquire a copy of that work for
the sole purpose of engaging in conduct permitted under this title.
And that's section 1201 a.d.
And the idea there is that you can de encrypt a copy if you need to
be able to do that in order to determine if you wanna actually purchase that work.
But you can't basically then use that de-encrypted copy for other purposes.
So you couldn't make additional copies.
You couldn't loan that out to others either.
So it's a nice exception, but it's a pretty narrow exception.
In addition,
the library that takes advantage of that exception has to be open to the public and
that includes researchers that are specialized in a particular field.
But are not among the library's normal patrons, so if you had a corporate library
for example, only open to members of the corporation, that wouldn't qualify.
It would have to be open even to researchers from other areas.
So what happens when you've got these lawful activities that fair use allows And
you run smack dab up against encryption in the work.
So, the section of the Copyright Act says that it doesn't completely
nullify fair use, but the courts have not looked favorably on DVD decryption.
So luckily we have a few other things that we can,
we can look to for anti circumvention.
>> Right, and there's some good news bad news here.
The good news is that Congress thought of that, and provided for a process for
dealing with the fact that there might need to be times when a person needed
to employ fair use and would need to descramble, and deencrypt a DVD.
On the other hand, there's some bad news.
The process for granting the exceptions is a time consuming,
complicated process, and the exceptions granted only last for three years.
>> [LAUGH] >> So
it is Administrative to the nth degree.
[LAUGH] >> Not uncommon, in government processes.
>> So here generally is how the process of granting exceptions works.
The prohibition on de-encryption does not apply to users, of a particular class of
work, if such persons are or are likely to be in the succeeding
three year period adversely effected by the prohibition, and their ability to make
non-infringing uses of that particular class of works under this title.
You've gotta identify a type of work and you've gotta say in the next three years,
we're gonna need to make non-infringing uses that will
necessitate decrypting the DVD.
Every three years, the registers of copyrights
solicits inputs from the public, and then makes recommendations.
To the Librarian of Congress on types of users and
types of works that would benefit from the exceptions.
And it seems like as soon as they grant the exceptions they
have to start all over again.
[LAUGH] The exceptions are granted for that three year period only.
If there is desire to extend them, they've got to be recertified, as it were.
If you're working with video there are two exceptions that are in force right now,
can't say about the long term, but for right now.
There is one for motion picture excerpts for commentary, criticism, and
educational uses.
That is applicable when there is no other way to access the material,
when the user is circumventing content scrambling systems on a DVD only.
It's available for use in non-commercial videos, documentary films,
non-fiction multimedia, eBooks offering film analysis and
for educational purposes in film studies or other courses requiring
close analysis of film by college and university faculty college and
university students and kindergarten through 12th grade educators.
>> So it's a good exception but it's also a rather narrow exception.
It's aimed at educator, so that's a good thing, and gives them flexibility, but
it's pretty narrow in it's scope.
>> Right, and it does not include kindergarten through 12th grade pupils.
Only the educators.
And in addition what they call, the statute calls, fictional films.
Feature films are not included in the exception,
which of course cuts out a lot of the work in film that's done.
There's also an exception in force currently for captioning and
descriptive audio.
This allows the circumvention of technology for DVDs in
order to do research and development for the creation of video or audio players.
For visually impaired people or hearing impaired people.
Again, a very limited exception.
It's only for this sorta R&D activity.
And it also does not include media, other media like Blu-Ray.
Only the DVD CSS combination.
There are other exceptions in force right now but
we'll spare you the details on those [LAUGH].
At the time we're filming we're moving towards the end of one of those three year
periods and the register of Copyrights has recently gathered recommendations for
a new round of exceptions.
>> So it sounds like the rule of thumb here is to A,
be aware that there is this rule making process, so if we had listeners who
are interested in really pursuing this, have some ideas of something that might
be eligible for an exception, there is a way for that to happen.
>> Right.
>> But the exceptions only last three years.
So it's worth checking out,
look at the Library of Congress Copyright offices, website, to really see
what is enforced before relying on one of these rule making exceptions.
>> Yeah. It is a very cumbersome process.
It's very limited.
It is intended to respond to changes in technology, but it does so
in a relatively slow manner.
However, in certain circumstances, these exceptions can be very helpful, so
it's useful to know about them at the least.
>> Yes that is true.
>> And thank you for listening and watching.
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