Overview

Broadcast television programs are protected by copyright laws and can only be recorded and shown with permission of the copyright owner.

Exception

An exception may be made to a copyright holder’s exclusive rights to the work. When someone other than the copyright holder uses the recording, that person may do so for educational purposes like teaching, research, criticism, parody, and news reporting.

General Guidelines

1. Videotape recordings of show broadcasts can be kept for 45 days after the recording date. These days only count school days and not weekends, holidays, or exams.
2. Recordings can be shown once by an individual instructor if related to the instruction, and repeated only if necessary one other time. PBS recordings can be shown as many times as needed within 7 days.
3. Recordings must be requested by instructors and cannot be recorded in anticipation of a request.
4. A recording cannot be shown twice within the 10 days for the same group of students.
5. Recordings must include the show’s copyright notice.
6. A recording may not be altered, but it does not have to be shown in its entirety.
7. Duplication of a recording is allowed, but only at the request of other faculty members and it is subject to the restrictions of the original recording.
8. These guidelines apply only to educational institutions.

Additional Resources

Brown University - Copyright and Fair Use: Audio-visual

Shoreline Community College - Fair Use and Video Materials

Stanford University - Videotaping for the Classroom