Legal Issues Classroom exemption act

Can we legally show videos that are “For Home Use Only”?

Yes, a business, school, Library and other institution can legally share “For Home Use Only” video content if they either meet the conditions set forth in Laws such as the “Classroom Exemption” act, the T.E.A.C.H. act and other related “fair use” doctrines or they may alternatively sign up to a licensing service such as the one offered by the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation or purchase a license from the copyright holder.

Video Sharing Under The “Classroom Exemption” Act

In general if all of the following conditions of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, Section 110 (1) and subsequent amendments including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act also known as the “classroom exemption” are met, then it may be permissible to show and share across multi-classrooms a “For Home Use Only” VHS videotape or DVD video disc in a U.S. classroom or school library without obtaining permission from the copyright owner. To be safe however it is best to contact the copyright holder to ensure you have the right to share their copyrighted works.

In general, as a minimum, the following rules must be met to share videos:
1. An instructor must be present during the showing of the video,
2. The video is used in the course of face-to-face* instruction,
3. No duplication of videotapes is permitted, 4. No admission / fee can be charged.

According to the House of Representatives Report No. 94-1476 sharing the video across multi-classrooms is permissible as long as the broadcast does not leave the school grounds. The Report states, "...as long as the instructor and pupils are in the same building or general area, the exemption would extend to the use of devices for amplifying or reproducing sound and for projecting visual images."

Other Restrictions
Videos that are available in digital form are not exempted

The T.E.A.C.H. act allows for limited sections of analog videos to be converted to a digital format if all requirements of the T.E.A.C.H. Act are met and only if no digital versions of the video are available from the video content copyright owner. In addition, copyrighted digitally formatted videos that are shared across a digital network and are used primarily for mediated instructional activities are also not exempted by the TEACH Act.

Distributing Videos outside a single building have additional restrictions. Distributing videos outside a single building are governed by Section 110(2) of the Copyright Act, and should be reviewed carefully to ensure you meet the requirements of the law.

The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) is an independent copyright licensing service exclusively authorized by major Hollywood motion picture studios and independent producers to grant Licenses to non-profit groups, businesses and government organizations for the public performances of home VHS videotapes and DVD videodiscs. You may obtain more information about the MPLC licensing program at http://www.mplc.com/.

Video Publisher Licenses

Alternatively you may also obtain the copyright owner’s written permission to share the video. For example Disney will sell you a one-time license for $25 per video that allows you to share many of it's entertainment videos.

http://www.axonix.com/Supervue/Legal.aspx
United States Copyright Office Circular 21; Sections 107, 108 and 110 of the Copyright Act (1976) and subsequent amendments, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia.