Classroom Use of Films and Music

To the existing right to perform musical works in the classroom for educational purposes without the requirement of public performance rights (PPR), this amendment has been extended to include audiovisual works. No PPR are now required to perform films in the classroom for non-profit education in educational institutions. One must always have a legally obtained copy of the program.

Concerning the performance of audiovisual materials in the classroom, the new right applies only if the copy being performed is a non-infringing copy or the person responsible for the performance has no reasonable grounds to believe it is an infringing copy.

 

Showing Videos in Online Lectures

The Copyright Act allows for the use of personal copies of legally-acquired films to be shown in classrooms, without requiring additional rights or licenses. This means you can show your own DVDs, videos, etc., in class.  Similarly, the Copyright Act allows for the sharing of works available through the internet with students.

The Copyright Act allows for lessons that are "telecommunicated" (including online) to have the rights to the same exceptions, subject to certain conditions. This means you may record and share lectures containing films, internet clips, etc., under the conditions that you limit the materials to sharing only with the class, destroy the copies 30 days after students receive grades, and take reasonable measures to prevent the materials from being used outside the purpose of the lesson.

Regardless of these exceptions, the use of films in remote lessons must adhere to the Terms of Service of the video teleconferencing platform you are using.