InfoGuides: Media Collections: Copyright &amp; Digitization

Statement on Copyright

George Mason University policies regarding copyright and academic integrity must be strictly followed when using and creating media. For standards of Fair Use, copyright information, or consultation, contact the Music, FIlm Studies and Media Librarian, Cindy Badilla-Melendez .

Copyright and Media FAQ

Can I screen library media for a large or public audience?

Screening films to campus groups outside the classroom requires public performance rights (PPR). The great majority of DVDs in the library do not have PPR, and screening it for a public audience is unauthorized. To find out if a film has PPR, please contact the Music, FIlm Studies and Media Librarian.

Some library databases include PPR for campus groups. Contact Music and Media Librarian, Cindy Badilla-Melendez, for more information.

For more information, click here.

Does the library digitize videos or film clips for Blackboard?

The library does not digitize any videos due to copyright laws.

Does the library convert VHS tapes to DVD?

No, but contact the Music, FIlm Studies and Media Librarian if you find in the Library a VHS that is crucial for your course.

Copyright and Fair Use Resources

Copyright & Fair Use--Mason Publishing
Guidance from Mason Libraries on making informed decisions about how best to use copyrighted materials and about how to manage your own rights in work you’ve created
CMSI Fair Use and Sound Recordings: Lessons from Community Practice
This report presents strategies for reasonable application of copyright’s fair use doctrine to a series of recurring situations encountered by recorded sound collections.1 The situations were derived from detailed telephone interviews with professionals working with recorded sound collections. The strategies are based on existing best practices developed and published by related curatorial communities as well as the latest fair use case law.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education
This document is a code of best practices that helps educators using media literacy concepts and techniques to interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances—especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant. It is a general right that applies even in situations where the law provides no specific authorization for the use in question—as it does for certain narrowly defined classroom activities.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use in Teaching for Film and Media Educators
This code of best practices in fair use in teaching for film/media educators was designed by The Society for Cinema and Media Studies. It deals with classroom screenings, broadcasts, and derivative works.