Subject: Public Exhibition Rights of Documentary Videos Licensed at
Purchase
From: Allan Scherlen <scherlnag_at_appstate.edu>
How do academic libraries manage the exhibition rights of documentary
videos they purchase which include educational, non-commercial
exhibition rights in the sale price of the videos? Are these video
titles put on a list of videos OK to show to the public? Is a note put
in the cataloging record? Are patrons who ask for documentation to
prove the video is permissible to exhibit to a group for educational,
non-commercial purposes given such documentation or told to contact
the vendor, or is some other procedure followed?
Some background:
Many documentary vendors include educational exhibition rights (beyond
the classroom) in the price of the documentary video - hence the high
retail price. This practice of wrapping rights on the front end is
more common than many librarians realize. Nevertheless, because of
strict copyright laws governing home videos, many libraries have
blanket library policies that ask the student or faculty member
showing a video publically to be responsible themselves for checking
with the vendor about permissions to exhibit. But this kind of blanket
policy can create a vicious circle. Some documentary vendors, we hear,
are getting frustrated with calls or e-mails directly from patron
exhibitors and referring them back to their library. They expect the
patron exhibitor to be informed about exhibition rights by their
librarian who purchased the video and they expect libraries to keep
track of which videos they purchased that are licensed for public
exhibit. Since librarians want to be ever so careful not to get in
legal trouble by OK-ing a video that may not have exhibition rights,
managing these titles among the many low cost home video titles that
do not have such rights must be a widespread problem among libraries.
Any ideas on good practices?
Thank you,
Allan Scherlen
Collection Development Librarian for the Social Sciences
Appalachian State University
325 University Drive
PO Box 32026
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-2285
828-262-3001 (fax)
scherlnag_at_appstate.edu
Received on Wed Mar 02 2005 - 03:01:37 EST