Copyright

A program that is taped from TV has a 10-day copyright. This means that the tape cannot legally be used after 10 days. On [|www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources], the following statement is written ” All materials and resources posted here, or anywhere on WhiteHouse.gov, are public domain.” Here’s a 2001 discussion of public domain as it relates to libraries. [] So, in the case of the President’s speech on Tuesday…………………………… Here’s my question. According to copyright law, the VHS with the President’s speech has to be erased in 10 days. But we can keep a digital copy that we have downloaded from the website indefinitely? Does this sound right?

Any thoughts?

Cindy Bleier emailed me on this issue. C-Span allows educators to tape their programs and use the tapes longer than the usual 10-day period.