Re: fair use of videotapes

Rita Reusch asks:
>
> Here's a question for the group, posed by a clinical faculty member here:
>
> She would like to know if she can take a commercially-produced videotape and
> make an edited copy for use in classroom presentations. This would not be a
> backup copy, which recent discussion again confirms cannot be done, and it
> would not otherwise come under the section 108(h) proscription (altho it
> could involve a library-purchased tape). An example she used was making a
> tape of several of the attorney/client scenes in "Kramer v Kramer." Is
> there anything to prevent a straight fair use analysis of this situation?
 

This is a tough fair use case. The clinical teacher would be helped by operating in a non-profit educational environment, not in any way exploiting the material commercially (like selling the material to another law school) and by using only short clips. HOwever, the nature of the work - a commercial film - does raise some problems. ON balance, I think fair use applies provided the amount taken is a small percentage of the film.

--Don Berman Received on Tue Sep 28 1993 - 19:50:57 GMT