NOTE: This only applies to the courses officially offered through educational institutions as part of the official curriculum.
Let's cut to the chase.
- Portion
- Films that are factual and non-dramatic in their nature: You can show them in their entirety.
e.g.) news, history documentary, etc. - Films that are creative and dramatic in their nature: You can show the reasonable amount.
e.g.) reality show films (such as The Biggest Loser), hollywood films (such as Back to the Future), etc.
By "reasonable amount," it generally means:- It cannot exceed the length you can and would show in a face to face classroom setting.
- Use only the segments that you actually need for your teaching and course activities.
- Duration to make it available
Take it off the course or make it unavailable as soon as the video is no longer needed. Less than a week is recommended because if it was face-to-face, you would only show it in one particular class meeting time. - Technology
You also have to use the necessary technology to limit the video access only to the students officially enrolled in your course. You also have to use the necessary technology to prevent downlaoding and retention of the video.
Sadly, to this day, there are a lot of people who still think that it's almost impossible to show films in distance education in educational institutions without paying a lot of loyalty fee. In fact, until 2002, that had been the case, but it's not the case anymore.
References:
- US Copyright Law Section 110
- TEACH Act
