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Copyright: Videos & Images

Guide introduces the fundamental concepts of copyright and provides resources to comply with and exercise it.

Guidelines

Public Performance Rights

Public Performance Rights are the legal rights to publicly show a film or video. It is a public performance if any of the following are true:

  • The screening is open to the public
  • The screening is in a public space (dorm lounge, library, auditorium, etc.)
  • Access is not restricted
  • Persons attending are outside the normal circle of a family and its acquaintances

PPR are required if you are screening copyrighted media to audiences for purposes that fall outside regular curriculum-based instruction. These include:

  • Student organization events (e.g. movie night)
  • Meetings, programs, or other events on campus
  • Film series/festivals

PPR are not required for:

  • Home viewing
  • Screening a film only to registered students in a classroom, where the content of the film directly relates to the course

Library videos that include PPR prohibit:

  • Charging admission fees
  • Public screenings from locations off campus
  • Any sort of broadcasting, including over Zoom

Other restrictions may apply. Many of the videos available through the library do not include Public Performance Rights. Contact your subject librarian to learn whether a library video includes PPR and what those PPR terms may be.

 

**Note that the contents of this box originate with the University of Minnesota Duluth Library

Sources of Free Online Images

These sites free-to-use images.  Please make sure that you understand the licensing on an image before downloading it as licenses vary from site to site.  One of your best bets is to look for images with a Creative Commons CC0 license since you can treat works with a CC0 license more or less the same way you would treat a work that has passed into the public domain (i.e., basically use it however you'd like). 

FAVORITES

OTHER PICKS

  • FreeImages.com - Lots of photos, slightly more restrictive license than a CC0, though.
  • MorgueFile bills itself as a "Public image file for creatives by creatives." Click here for usage terms.
  • Openphoto groups completely free photos by categories and offers a search function as well.
  • Stockvault's site provides access to  thousands of images.

Sources of Quality Video

Critical Commons: For Fair and Critical Participation in Media Culture
Clips from popular media critically annotated for teaching purposes

VHS format conversion

Section 108 of the U.S. copyright law provides a way for libraries to make copies of deteriorating or obsolete items provided certain conditions are met.  One of these is that a search be done to ensure that the items in question are not currently available for purchase in a modern format (i.e., if a DVD copy exists and can be purchased, one cannot simply digitize old VHS copies to save money).  The resources below can help in doing research related to this.