Streaming Video Guide

Public Performance Rights (PPR) are the legal rights to publicly show a film or video. 

Most of the videos available through the library do not include PPR. PPR are required if you are screening copyrighted media to audiences for purposes that fall outside regular curriculum-based instruction. These include:

• Student organization events (e.g. movie night)
• Meetings, programs, or other events on campus
• Film series/festivals

Additionally, Library videos that do include PPR prohibit:

• Charging admission fees
• Public screenings from locations off campus
• Audiences other than SCU students, faculty, or staff

Other restrictions may apply. Contact eresources@scu.edu to learn whether a streaming video includes PPR and what those PPR terms may be.

Fair use

Fair use is a facet of copyright law that allows copyrighted works to be used in certain ways without the copyright holder’s explicit permission. Fair use guidelines provide a way for individuals to study, expand, reinterpret, and otherwise make use of copyrighted material in a way that does not infringe upon the copyright protections guaranteed to “authors and inventors” by article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. 

Fair use is not easy to define and is subject to interpretation. While there is no exact formula for determining fair use, understanding the basic principles of fair use can help students and faculty use copyrighted material responsibly and effectively. 

The four factors of fair use

To determine whether use of a work is within fair use, the law calls for a balanced application of four factors. The four factors are purpose, nature, amount, and effect. These four factors come directly from the fair use provision, Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act .

One guideline to follow is this:

If all 4 factors favor fair use	it is probably fair use
If 3 factors favor fair use	it is more than likely fair use
If only 2 factors favor fair use	it may be fair use but there is a risk involved
If only 1 factor favors fair use	it is not fair use

Consider each factor carefully before sharing copyrighted materials as course materials on Camino.

Factor 1: Purpose of the use

Is the use for a nonprofit educational purpose such as criticism, comment, teaching, scholarship or research? 

Concepts to consider:

• Nonprofit educational purposes are generally favored for fair use over commercial uses.
• Not all nonprofit educational uses are “fair.” A finding of fair use depends on an application of all four factors, not merely the purpose. 

Factor 2: Nature of the work 

Is the work published or unpublished? 

Concepts to consider:

• Use of a work that is commercially available specifically for the educational market is generally disfavored and is unlikely to be considered a fair use. 
• Courts are usually more protective of art, music, poetry, feature films, and other creative works than they might be of nonfiction works. 

Factor 3: Amount of the portion used

Is the amount used a relatively small portion of the total work?

Concepts to consider:

• Copyright law does not set exact quantity limits, generally the more you use, the less likely you are within fair use.
• A book chapter might be a relatively small portion of a book, but if the same content might be published elsewhere as an article or essay and could be considered the entire work in that context (such as a chapter in an edited volume), the less likely it is to be considered fair use.

Factor 4: Effect of the use on the value of the work

Does use of the work have a effect on the market value of the works and does it deprive the copyright holder of revenue?

Concepts to consider:

• If you could have realistically purchased or licensed the copyrighted work, that fact weighs against a finding of fair use.
• If your purpose is research or scholarship, market effect may be difficult to prove. 

What if use doesn't appear to favor fair use?

If the answer to 2 or fewer of these questions is no, then you may be at risk for violating copyright compliance. If you are unsure if use of a work is fair use, contact your subject librarian for assistance.