Our department, as Mediasite content managers, have recently been reminded of certain copyright issues. For those of you who record classes, either with Mediasite or other means, there is a wrinkle in the copyright law that you should be aware of. Those who teach in face-to-face classrooms have a great deal of power to use copyrighted material under Section 110 of the copyright law. They can, for example, legally show entire Hollywood movies as part of their class presentation. However, once a “digital network” becomes involved (such as for transmitting the performance to a place outside the classroom, such as a distance student watching live, or a digital recorder or server that contains a copy of the performance), Section 110 places a load of restrictions on the teacher. The nature of these restrictions is too complex to discuss here but I will be glad to discuss them with anyone who asks.
From the perspective of the professor recording a course, BE CAREFUL. You can show the in-class students an episode of “Seinfeld” or “Gone with the Wind,” for example, but you cannot place this on your Mediasite Read more
