In July 1996, the Consortium of College and University Media Centers (CCUMC) completed a two-year process to develop fair use guidelines for the creation of multimedia projects by educators and students. The guidelines, "Educational Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia," seek to clarify what constitutes 'fair use' of copyrighted materials in an educational context. This fact sheet summarizes the concerns of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and other organizations that rejected the CCUMC guidelines as overly restrictive.
CCUMC developed the guidelines with representatives from educational organizations, library associations, and copyright proprietary groups. Educational organizations and library association representatives were active participants and raised many of the concerns noted below in working group meetings. In spite of many long discussions over the course of the development of the guidelines, it is the opinion of many in the educational community that the final guidelines did not address these concerns and, therefore, the guidelines do not maintain the balance between users and owners of copyrighted materials.
As of early 1997, several organizations issued statements opposing the guidelines including the Association of Research Libraries, the American Library Association, the National Association of State University and Land Grant Colleges, and a coalition led by the National School Boards Association (NSBA, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of School Administrators, National Education Association, U.S. Catholic Conference, National Association of Independent Schools). The concerns raised by these constituencies include several common themes:
The guidelines define fair use by imposing strict and narrow portion limitations.
Three examples are cited:
o 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, of a motion media
o 10% or 30 seconds, whichever is less, of music
o Retention of student projects for 2 years or less
Recognizing that user rights are not unlimited, these portion limitations still unduly restrict instructional creativity and the development of in-depth multimedia applications for distance education initiatives.
These strictly-articulated quantitative limitations may establish untenable precedents that may narrow the interpretation of fair use, and thus will not fully protect the public's fair use rights.
The guidelines appear to make teachers and administrators legally responsible for the activities of students.
These concerns with the proposal are the basis for ARL's decision not to endorse the Educational Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia.
February 6, 1997; revised April 30, 1997
Prepared for ARL by
Mary E. Jackson
ARL Access & Delivery Services Consultant