Submitted by Plank Road Publishing, Brookfield, Wisconsin

Idea posted September 24, 2002

What We Have Learned While Trying To Offer BLAST! and Other Videos To You

In the past couple years, we have learned a lot about using video and other multimedia resources in the classroom. Not only are we selling a lot of videos to you, but it also seems that we are fielding questions from teachers every week about the legal issues that they face when they use videos in their classrooms.

These issues came into sharper focus in fall of 2000 as we became one of the few companies that PBS allowed to sell their video for BLAST. Before we continue, let us say that we highly respect PBS as a wonderful producer of educational materials, and as broadcasters of rich and valuable shows.

That said, we also have discovered that they have some things to learn about teachers and how they use video.

When we discovered BLAST, we immediately contacted PBS and told them we wanted to offer it to teachers. They ran us through a few hoops, and finally agreed to sell videos to us. (Keep in mind that we could have gone to any of several national video wholesalers to get them, but we prefer to go to the source, as this is usually faster and slightly more profitable.)

So... we ordered 100 copies and told you that we could sell them to you for $19.95, roughly the same price that PBS and a few other companies were selling them for. Imagine our surprise when we received a bill based on a $49.95 price. Ouch! We lost money on each sale, not a great way to do business. As we revisited the issue with PBS, we discovered that they offer this and other videos at two prices: one for people to use at home, and one for teachers. This is unique to PBS, and to some extent understandable, though not in this case.

PBS is great in that they spell out their policies in some detail on their web site, and they do reflect the current copyright laws. So why do they make this difference in prices? Well, while they come right out and say it, they seem to be worried about substitute teachers and teachers who don't understand the law. Everyone else pays extra for this lack of trust.

Which leads us to the law... and we will paraphrase it here, though we encourage you to read it for yourself and do further advise you and your district to ask your lawyer if you have specific questions. We are not lawyers, and, as we are learning, everything is open to interpretation.

Basically, if you own a video (like BLAST) and you use some or all of it as part of your teaching curriculum, you may use it under the concept of "Fair Use." On the other hand, if you show this video "in public" (which includes your classroom) with no educational context, you are breaking the law.

For example, if you make BLAST the center of a unit on brass, or as a part of your study of musical instruments or musical theater, that's fine. If you play TOY STORY (or BLAST) as a reward for a month's good behavior, or leave them with a sub to fill a period with no educational use, you are breaking the copyright law.

The teachable moment is good; pure entertainment is not allowed for most videos. And, to their credit, PBS does give you a way to buy a copy that is legal for just entertainment. But we assume that when we sell a video to you, you are using it to teach, or you are using it for your own entertainment at home. In other words, we trust you and believe that you are professionals. We are now in the process of trying to make video producers understand this, too.

Educational Videos - Some videos are produced primarily for education, and in many cases, the producers go to extra lengths for music educators. This is certainly the case with the wonderful 4 Fish Fly Free™ videos, which are very entertaining, but are primarily designed to help you teach musical concepts. It is also the case with such video series as the Meet The Musicians series and the popular The Composers' Specials series. While they, too, assume that the videos are a part of your curriculum, they go a long way towards helping you in your task. Some series even provide special Teachers' Guides for the videos.

Taping Shows From Broadcast Sources - Yes, you can actually use tapes that you have made from broadcast TV, but there are strict laws about it. We recommend that you read them as they deal with the number of days you can keep them, etc. The PBS.org web site is a good resource for these rules.

Making tapes or getting tapes from friends - Put simply, just don't. The basic rule is that you cannot make or receive a copied video without permission of the copyright holder. Of course, this is the best policy for anything that you want to do that seems to be questionable: Get permission. It takes a little more effort and time, but it works.