--- Forwarded Message from Derek Roff <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 15:07:59 -0600
>From: Derek Roff <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #5761.6 Legal issues regarding conversion of PAL video to NTSC
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>

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Part of the problem with copyright is that the laws have never been 
able to keep up with technology.  Before movies existed, copyright 
law primarily addressed printed works. There was no expectation that 
a book would wear out in a specific time, and duplication of a book 
was hard.  Movies got some special rules, because films are much 
easier to copy than books (pre-Xerox), and degrade each time they run 
through the projector.  Early film stock had a fairly short life, 
even in storage.  New regulations were written for films, that deal 
with the life of a physical copy.

Now, the same movies can be copied onto videotape, which can be 
played many more times than a film can be projected, and can be 
stored digitally, which implies indefinite life.  New technology 
makes the special rules, created for a short-lived physical medium, 
inappropriate.  What I see, in the discussions of where copyright law 
is going, indicates a trend away from worrying about the physical 
object.  I think we will deal more with the intellectual property 
questions, and less with the physical medium.

Meanwhile, everything is muddy, and it is probably most important to 
follow the rules on your own campus.

Derek

--- Forwarded Message from Ursula Williams <[log in to unmask]> ---

> I'm with Bruce on this one, and here's the reason: If you retain
> the  original, what do you do if the copy is lost or damaged? I'm
> thinking  that it is NOT legal to retain originals and circulate
> copies, making  fresh ones as needed. That is not, IMO, the spirit
> of the law. I do  make conversions, but destroy the original. That
> way the person who  bought one tape has one tape, with its built-in
> life-span. When that  expires, it's time to buy a new tape.

Derek Roff
Language Learning Center, Ortega Hall Rm 129, University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131  505/277-4804 fax 505/277-3885
Internet: [log in to unmask]