Media Services can duplicate to and from many video and audio formats. Please use the menu on the left to learn more.

Turnaround Policy

Our standard turnaround time for all duplication services is a minimum of 2 business days.

Copyright Policy

Media Services will not duplicate any copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder(s).

Guidelines for Off-Air Recordings

With regard to off-air recording, Media Services upholds the Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes. In 1981, this set of guidelines were developed to apply fair use to the use of television broadcast programs for educational purposes. They address (1) under what conditions a program may be recorded off broadcast television, (2) under what conditions the recorded program may be used, and (3) how long the recorded program may be retained. Below is a brief summary, followed by the full text of the guidelines.

First, a brief clarification: broadcast, or "off-air" programs are television programs broadcast via airwaves to the general public for free. If the program is broadcast but you can simultaneously receive it via cable, satellite, or other technology, these guidelines do apply. The guidelines do not apply to programs which are not freely available, such as cable premium channels like HBO or Showtime, or any cable channel which is not being simultaneously broadcast.

SUMMARY OF OFF-AIR GUIDELINES

The guidelines apply only to non-profit educational institutions.

A program may be recorded off-air and retained by the school for forty-five (45) consecutive days. However, the program may be used for instructional activities only during the first ten (10) consecutive school days following the recording. During these ten (10) days, the program may be used once in the course of teaching, and repeated once only when reinforcement is necessary. The rest of the retention period, up to the end of the forty-five (45) days, is to be used for teacher evaluation purposes only, i.e., to determine whether or not to include the program in the teaching curriculum. During this time permission to retain the program for a longer period of time must be sought. Upon conclusion of the forty-five (45) days, the recording must be erased.

Off-air recordings may be made only at the request of individual teachers, and may not be recorded in anticipation of requests. A given teacher cannot request the same program be recorded more than once.

A limited number of copies of the recording may be made. These copies are subject to the same provisions as the original recording.

Off-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but they may not be altered from their original content. They may not be combined to create teaching anthologies.

Full Text of Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes

[The following excerpts are reprinted from the House Report on piracy and counterfeiting amendments (H.R. 97-495, pages 8-9).]

In March 1979, Congressman Robert Kastenmeier, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and Administration of Justice, appointed a Negotiating Committee consisting of representatives of educational organizations, copyright proprietors, and creative guilds and unions. The following guidelines reflect the Negotiating Committees consensus as to the application of fair use to the recording, retention, and use of television broadcast programs for educational purposes. They specify periods of retention and use of such off-air recordings in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction and for homebound instruction. The purpose of establishing these guidelines is to provide standards for both owners and users of copyrighted television programs.

(1) The guidelines were developed to apply only to off-air recording by non-profit educational institutions.

(2) A broadcast program may be recorded off-air simultaneously with broadcast transmission (including simultaneous cable transmission) and retained by a non-profit educational institution for a period not to exceed the first forty-five (45) consecutive calendar days after date of recording. Upon conclusion of such retention period, all off-air recordings must be erased or destroyed immediately. Broadcast programs are television programs transmitted by television stations for reception by the general public without charge.

(3) Off-air recordings may be used once by individual teachers in the course of relevant teaching activities, and repeated once only when instructional reinforcement is necessary, in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction within a single building, cluster, or campus, as well as in the homes of students receiving formalized home instruction, during the first ten (10) consecutive school days in the forty-five (45) day calendar day retention period. School days are school session days not counting weekends, holidays, vacations, examination periods, or other scheduled interruptions within the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period.

(4) Off-air recordings may be made only at the request of, and used by, individual teachers, and may not be regularly recorded in anticipation of requests. No broadcast program may be recorded off-air more than once at the request of the same teacher, regardless of the number of times the program may be broadcast.

(5) A limited number of copies may be reproduced from each off-air recording to meet the legitimate needs of teachers under these guidelines. Each such additional copy shall be subject to all provisions governing the original recording.

(6) After the first ten (10) consecutive school days, off-air recording may be used up to the end of the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period only for teacher evaluation purposes, i.e., to determine whether or not to include the broadcast program in the teaching curriculum, and may not be used in the recording institution for student exhibition or any other non-evaluation purpose without authorization.

(7) Off-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but the recorded programs may not be altered from their original content. Off-air recordings may not be physically or electronically combined or merged to constitute teaching anthologies or compilations.

(8) All copies of off-air recordings must include the copyright notice on the broadcast program as recorded.

(9) Educational institutions are expected to establish appropriate control procedures to maintain the integrity of these guidelines.

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