Author Archives: Sue Driscoll

Clearing up confusion about film screenings

The beginning of the academic year brings new leadership of student clubs and new faculty and academic coordinators.  Copyright issues are confusing! We thought we’d use this post to clear up some common misconceptions about screening rights.  If you are planning a film screening and are not sure whether you should acquire a license or need permission to screen a film, please contact Sue Driscoll in LIS.

  • We’re a college, so the screening must be ‘educational,’ right?  So we should never need to pay a fee!

It is true that, as a college, most of our lectures and discussions are educational in nature.  However, copyright law allows only face to face interactions in a classroom setting to be exempt from licensing fees. This means that, in order to take advantage of the educational exemptions in the law and avoid paying additional fees, the film screening must take place within the context of teaching a class, to registered students, in a location that is usually used for educational activities. If the screening is advertised publicly, or shown in a public area, to people other than registered students, you have to secure rights by paying a licensing fee.

  • But, what if we don’t charge admission?  Surely we don’t need to pay a fee then?

Here at Middlebury, there is no admission charged for film screenings, but in most cases, you still need to secure rights and pay a fee to show a film. The Library buys some documentaries at a higher ‘institutional rate’ and these have ‘built-in’ public performance rights. As long as we do not charge admission and limit the audience size, a group can screen these films without paying additional fees.

Each film company is unique and has different rates and requirements, so before you make the decision to show a film, please contact Sue Driscoll in LIS to determine whether or not a licensing fee will be required. She can let you know the cost ahead of time so you can work within your budget.

Clearing up confusion about film screenings

The beginning of the academic year brings new leadership of student clubs and new faculty and academic coordinators.  We thought we’d use this post to clear up some confusion about film screenings. If you are not sure whether you should acquire a license or need permission to screen a film, please contact Sue Driscoll in LIS.

  • We’re a college, so the screening must be ‘educational,’ right?  So we should never need to pay a fee!

It is true that, as a college, most of our lectures and discussions are educational in nature.  However, copyright law allows only face to face interactions in a classroom setting to be exempt from licensing fees. This means that, in order to take advantage of the educational exemptions in the law and avoid paying additional fees, the film screening must take place within the context of teaching a class, to registered students, in a location that is usually used for educational activities. If the screening is advertised publicly, or shown in a public area, to people other than registered students, you have to secure rights by paying a licensing fee.

  • But, what if we don’t charge admission?  Surely we don’t need to pay a fee then?

Here at Middlebury, there is no admission charged for film screenings, but in most cases, you still need to secure rights and pay a fee to show a film. The Library buys some documentaries at a higher ‘institutional rate’ and these have ‘built-in’ public performance rights. As long as we do not charge admission and limit the audience size, a group can screen these films without paying additional fees.

Each film company is unique and has different rates and requirements, so before you make the decision to show a film, please contact Sue Driscoll in LIS to determine whether or not a licensing fee will be required. She can let you know the cost ahead of time so you can work within your budget.

Clearing up confusion about public performance rights

This year a we’ve received questions from a few groups on campus about licensing fees for film screenings. When are they required, and when not?  Copyright issues are confusing! We thought we’d use this post to clear up some common misconceptions screening rights.

  • We’re a college, so the screening must be ‘educational,’ right?  So we should never need to pay a fee!

It is true that, as a college, most of our lectures and discussions are educational in nature.  However, copyright law allows only face to face interactions in a classroom setting to be exempt from licensing fees. This means that, in order to take advantage of the educational exemptions in the law and avoid paying additional fees, the film screening must take place within the context of teaching a class, to registered students, in a location that is usually used for educational activities. If the screening is advertised publicly, or shown in a public area, to people other than registered students, you have to secure rights by paying a licensing fee.

  • But, what if we don’t charge admission?  Surely we don’t need to pay a fee then?

Here at Middlebury, there is no admission charged for film screenings, but in most cases, you still need to secure rights and pay a fee to show a film. The Library buys some documentaries at a higher ‘institutional rate’ and these have ‘built-in’ public performance rights. As long as we do not charge admission and limit the audience size, a group can screen these films without paying additional fees.

Each film company is unique and has different rates and requirements, so before you make the decision to show a film, please contact Sue Driscoll in LIS to determine whether or not a licensing fee will be required. She can let you know the cost ahead of time so you can work within your budget.

CT Team Minutes 11/03/2009

Meeting minutes of CTT 11/03/2009

In attendance: all team members, Sue Driscoll (minutes)

The focus of the meeting was the IA of the CT website and how to build the site.

Decisions we made:
We agreed that we will use Drupal for the quick starts and overviews, which will then link to MediaWiki for more detailed documentation. The existing Ed Tech site was an initial attempt at a curricular technology site, and should only be used for its content.

We agreed that Dan, who volunteered, will be the ‘project manager’ of the CT site. His responsibility is to oversee the building of the site and make sure that others are doing what they said they would do. Others will be involved in finding and writing documentation. He will begin by adding the lists of Tools and Uses to the site.

We decided that each Tool will have its own page and will include an overview, a quick start and a link to more detailed documentation. Alex will write an example ‘quick start’ before the next meeting.

We decided that each Category of Uses will have consistent headings:
1. What is it? (overview)
2. What do you need to do it? (software, hardware)
3. How do you do it? (quick start)
4. Tips and Suggestions
Also, a link to more detail than the average user wants, or to a glossary and/or buzzwords
Alex will create sample text for the Video category of Uses.

Joe commented that it is important to identify who is going to do what. For example, who will curate the stories? What is a story? We agreed that a story is a 3 sentence blurb about an activity using curricular technology that links to a longer story on another department page or blog. There may be photos and links to our tools. Someone on the team should be responsible for finding these stories as they are reported around campus, write a blurb, perhaps add a photo and put them on the CT site.

Where do pdfs live? They should be linked to Midd Files because Drupal is not the place to store large files. Word documents can go into the Wiki and video files can go in MiddMedia. CT should set the example on this.