The first question I would want an answer to is how you are making your copies of the scenes. If you are decrypting them from DVD, then you are off to a bad start, since this would (particularly in light of the 321 Studios case) be a violation of the DMCA. If you are taking them from VHS and burning them to DVD, your use may work. I am not aware of a case that has addressed violating the DMCA for Fair Use purposes, but one may exist.
Second, the "three minute" rule is not true. In one notable case, the use of single frames of a film were found to be infringing. Thus, your use of less than three minutes will not, in and of itself, save you. The amount of an original work you use is only one factor in Fair Use analysis.
The compilation itself would probably not (apart from the individual portions of the movies copied) infringe any copyright, since it is unlikely that anyone has created a compilation of the same clips from the same movies. The compilation is treated as a separate copyright from the works contained in it.
The real issue here is whether your use of the clips constitutes Fair Use. You should follow the analysis that is common to other Fair Use issues: Is the use for comment, criticism, education, etc. If so, (1) what is the nature and purpose of the use, (2) what is the nature of the original work, (3) the amount and substantiality of the use, and (4) the effect on the market.
For example, if you are using these short clips to create a DVD that will be used in the classroom only for purposes of educating/comment, then your use may be OK provided you only use enough of those movies to conjure up the idea of what you are trying to educate/comment on.
Keep in mind that the foregoing is not legal advice, it is only information.
Brock Shinen, Esq.
Good morning,
I am new to this listserv, so please excuse this posting if the question has been asked previously. A teacher has requested that we take scenes from about 10-12 movies and put them together onto a DVD for a class. Is this legal? I do know that there can be no more than 3 minutes from any individual video, but I am not sure if the compilation in itself is legal. Thank you for your assistance.
Julie Conlon
Librarian
St. Xavier High School
600 North Bend Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45224
513-761-7600 ext. 358
513-761-3811 (FAX) jconlon[_at_]stxavier.org Received on Wed Feb 25 2004 - 02:56:32 GMT
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