Guidelines for Off-Air Broadcast Programming

Guidelines for Off-the-Air Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes

In March 1979, the House Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and Justice appointed a negotiating committee consisting of representatives of educational organizations, copyright proprietors, and creative guilds and unions to study how to apply fair use and the copyright law to the needs of educators. The following guidelines are excerpted and paraphrased from the Congressional Record, October 14, 1981.

Broadcast Programs
Cable Television Programming
Satellite Programming
Distance Learning Networks
Other Copyright and Fair Use Issues

Broadcast Programs

The following guidelines only refer to broadcast programming or those programs transmitted by television stations without charge to the general public. These guidelines do not address satellite, cable, or distance education programming.

A broadcast program may be recorded off-air (or off-cable) and retained for a period of 45 calendar days. At the end of this period, the materials may no longer be used (the Guidelines say it must be erased or destroyed) unless the proper licenses or written permissions are obtained.

Off-air recordings may be used once by individual teachers in the course of relevant teaching activities, and may be repeated once where reinforcement may be necessary during the first 10 school days of the 45 calendar day retention period of the recorded program. ÒSchool daysÓ are school session days, excluding weekends, holidays, examination periods, or scheduled interruptions. Recorded programs may not be used at the end of the 45 calendar day period, regardless of the number of school days that have passed (for example, summer vacation).

Off-air recordings may only be made at the request of and be used by an individual teacher and may not be regularly recorded in anticipation of requests. A teacher may not request the same program more than once, regardless of the number of times the program is broadcast. A limited number of copies of the recording may be made to satisfy the needs of the requesting individual. Each copy is subject to the same provisions governing the original recording.

After the first 10 school days, and up to the end of the 45 calendar day period following the off-air recording, the recording may be used only for teacher evaluation purposes and not used for student exhibition or any other non-evaluation purposes unless the proper purchase, license agreement, or written permissions have been obtained from the copyright holder.

Off-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but may not be altered. They may not be electronically or physically combined with other works. All copies must include the copyright notice as recorded on the broadcast program. Educational institutions are expected to establish appropriate control procedures to maintain the integrity of these guidelines.

Cable Television Programming

Cable television stations dictate their own off-air taping guidelines. They do not fall under the fair use guidelines because the programming is not available to the public free of charge. Most of these stations post guidelines regarding off-air programming on their web pages.

Satellite Programming

Fair use for satellite programming is even more difficult to understand. Satellite broadcasting and distribution, offered through subscription services and not free to the public, is governed by the Communications Act under the jurisdiction of the FCC. Satellite stations often broadcast many programs copyrighted by many different owners. Permission must be obtained for each program title before it can be used.

Distance Learning Networks

Sometimes other transmission means (ITFS, or Instructional Television Fixed Service, etc.) are used to deliver educational programming. Transmission, leasing, rentals, and off-air rights should be negotiated for these programs for each title.