Copyright Policy
Instructional Technology department follows the Code of Conduct for members of the Consortium of College and University Media Centers (CCUMC) with regard to copyright matters:
"We believe that a balance must exist between the rights of the producers and distributors of the works which we collect and disseminate and the privileges of ourselves and our patrons who benefit from their display; we understand that if the owners of audiovisual works are denied their legal right to actual and potential revenues that may be derived from their works, the net effect will be a decline in the production of audiovisual materials, and we consider infractions of copyright law to be equivalent to acts of theft."
CLASSROOM USE
Instructors at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University may show copyrighted DVDs and videos in their classes as long as it is in the context of face-to-face teaching and not for entertainment.
NON-ACADEMIC USE
Some DVDs and videos have public performance rights; many, however, do not. Those that are labeled for "home use only" may be used in a face to face teaching situation. Groups or clubs may not use "home use only" DVDs and videos in a public performance setting. They must rent videos from sources that grant public performance rights. For more information on public performance rights please contact Instructional Technology or refer to the Public Performance Rights Document.
STREAMING VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA
There are legal restrictions on the use of copyrighted materials online and specific procedures must be followed to comply with the law. Without permission, only three minutes or 10% of the work may be streamed, whichever is less.
FAIR USE OF BROADCAST TV PROGRAMS
Off-air recording of a TV broadcast may be shown twice in the classroom during the 10 days following the original broadcast, after 45 days of the broadcast, the recordings must be purchased, licensed or the copy erased or destroyed.
DUPLICATING MEDIA MATERIALS
Federal guidelines stipulate that entire videos cannot be copied without permission from the copyright holders. Brief portions may be copied for instructional uses. Only three minutes or 10% of the work, whichever is less, can be copied without permission. Most videos are copyright protected, even if a copyright notice is not visible. Transferring or copying video and multimedia materials in their entirety to other formats is generally not permitted.
PODCASTING
When creating and posting a podcast, all traditional copyright laws apply and should be followed. If use of the podcast is restricted to students in a class, fair use policies apply. If creating a podcast with all original materials, the creator owns the copyright. All necessary rights and permissions must be secured if creating a podcast with previously published materials.