This week, copyright law saw a major change that could benefit students in a number of ways when the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was renewed and expanded to protect the use of video clips for educational and other noncommercial purposes, such as documentary filmmaking. The DMCA renewal also covers exemptions in noninfringing uses of smart phones, video games and ebooks.
Previously this law — which was established in 1998 — only allowed media studies or film professors to use encrypted digital media from the educational library of a college or university’s film or media studies department, making other noncommercial uses of film clips illegal and inhibiting students from using clips in an educational setting the same way professors might.
We support this update to the legislation, which now allows any college or university professor, as well as film and media studies students, to use short portions of any motion picture — not just those limited to educational libraries — for educational purposes. While the new legislation does restrict usage to motion pictures only, excluding slide shows and video games, we appreciate that the renewed legislation allows both professors and students to use high-quality film clips to effectively engage in criticism or commentary about motion pictures.
Not only does the legislation expand usage of clips for educational purposes, it also allows for documentary filmmaking and noncommercial videos. No doubt students will be able to take advantage of these further exemptions in contexts beyond the classroom. The renewed regulations are well aligned with established fair use principles, and we look forward to seeing more students’ and professors’ remix videos as a result without being hindered by ulterior motives.
