Hmmmm.
Members are reminded that by making video or DVD recordings of television broadcasts they are breaking copyright law, if these recordings are shown to an audience other than their own personal use or family - this includes showing the recordings at schools, hospitals, oil rigs, prisons, community centres etc
Members are also reminded that it is illegal to pass on such recordings to other people.
This is exactly why I'm so 'scared' about such things. A number of years ago I got a solictor's letter because I'd uploaded a worksheet onto the main site that was largely a copy of a commercial worksheet. It was a complete mistake as it was a sheet created by someone else as an attempt to improve on the original (it was a good improvement too). They sent the letter to my home address and my school. It was all very heavy handed and over the top. Similarly I got stung with the 'Who Wants to be a Historical Millionaire'. [Yet the same year a teacher of the year was congratulated for using the same concept].
Am I under the impression that you can legally make a copy of any programme and then use it in the classroom for educational purposes?
Legally - no. In practice - who knows. In reality -
As we've discussed before, the copyright issues are just ridiculous. In theory, we are only allowed to show films, TV broadcasts etc. that have been made specifically for school i.e. schools' editions. The 'educational use' excuse doesn't technically apply. The licences we all have for photocopying etc. don't even actually apply for videos recorded from the TV when you look into it in detail.
It is wrong to say that nothing is changing - as I mentioned before - the work the BBC and others have been doing on the Creative Commons materials is an
immense change in direction. I think we need to keep pestering the BBC and any other agencies involved to highlight the need for such a service.
The main problem is that with the current situation one teacher may be held up as an example to others in the same way some poor teenager was taken to court over downloaded MP3s. We need clarity over the sitatuation. At the moment, the only file-sharing that can take place has to be shady and behind the scenes. This, as Mr Wilde suggests, is ridiculous - especially as we are simply trying to find effective resources to support our teaching.
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