faqs
New Zealand educational services
Screenrights is happy to answer any queries about its operations or the licence itself. If your question is not covered here, please email us at licensing@screenrights.org. We cannot, however, answer general legal queries or questions about copyright.
The questions are divided into the following areas:
The Screenrights Licence
- Do we have a Screenrights licence?
- How do I get a licence?
- What happens if we don't get a Screenrights licence?
- What happens to the money we pay?
- How does Screenrights know who to pay?
A Practical Guide to Copying
- What can we copy under the licence?
- Can copying only be done for educational purposes?
- Can we sell or lend copies?
- Do we need to label copies?
- We would like to show a film in public, is this covered under the Screenrights licence?
The Screenrights Licence
Do we have a Screenrights licence?
To find out whether your institution has a current Screenrights licence, contact licensing at Screenrights.
How do I get a licence?
If you do not have a current Screenrights copying licence, contact licensing at Screenrights.
What happens if we don't get a Screenrights licence?
Under the New Zealand Copyright Act, educational institutions that don't have a Screenrights licence may infringe copyright if they copy any programmes covered by the agreement. Failure to get a Screenrights licence therefore means that you will miss out on a comprehensive right to tape from television and radio.
What happens to the money we pay?
Screenrights distributes all the money it collects to the rightsholders in the programmes you copy after the deduction of our administrative overheads only.
How does Screenrights know who to pay?
Screenrights needs to monitor the copying you do in order to determine distributions to rightsholders. As the administrative burden of keeping full records of all copying done at all times would be onerous, Screenrights monitors copying by means of a statistical sample. Institutions that have entered the licence agreement will only be required to keep records for a short period when they are selected to be surveyed. The institution will be notified prior to the survey taking place and full training will be given to key staff. All copying information is confidential.
A Practical Guide to Copying
What can we copy under the licence?
The licence lets you copy radio, television and cable programmes, and make further copies of these original copies. Entire programmes or excerpts may be copied. You may also make compilations of the material on the one tape. The licence does not apply to the copying of pre-recorded material, such as bought or hired videos. Copying this material without permission from the copyright owner may infringe copyright.
The Screenrights licence is versatile and flexible. You can:
- Copy any programme, anytime, anywhere
- Copy in any format - VHS, DVD, CD, PC
- Copy anything on free to air, pay TV or radio
- Copy entire programmes or excerpts
- Make copies of copies
- Show tapes in class or the library
- Keep copies as resources in your library
- Make up compilation tapes of material you have copied
The licence does not cover copying of pre-recorded material such as bought or hired videos. You may be infringing copyright if you copy these without permission from the copyright owner.
Can copying only be done for educational purposes?
Under the Screenrights licence and the Copyright Act, copying must only be for the educational purposes of the institution making the copy. This includes, for example, making the copy in connection with a course or class, or for inclusion in the library.
Can we sell or lend copies?
Copies may be loaned to a pupil or staff member of the institution only. Copies may not be loaned to anyone else, nor to another educational institution, even if they have a Screenrights licence. However, you may make a copy of a copy for another licensed educational institution and they may do the same for you provided these copies are labeled. Copies made under the licence may not be sold.
Do we need to label copies?
All copies that are made under the licence must be labeled with the name of the institution for which the copy was made, the title of the programme, the date of the broadcast and the date on which the copy was made, if different. For example:
We would like to show a film in public, is this covered under the Screenrights licence?
Showing a film (eg playing a video or DVD) outside your immediate family and private home is, in copyright terms, a performance in public. This requires the permission of the copyright owners. Examples of this sort of use include:
- film societies
- fundraising film nights
- on bus or coaches
- entertaining the kids at school or in a library on a rainy day.
In industry terms this is called a "non-theatric exhibition", and there are two companies which can rent you a copy of a film with the permission to perform it in public included. They are: Roadshow Film Distributors, Tel, +61 2 9552 8600 and Amalgamated Movies Tel, +61 2 07 4787 1086. These companies distribute to New Zealand. Please call them on the Australian telephone numbers above. The two companies have different catalogues of films. So if one company doesn't have the movie you want, then the other may.
Hannibal, BBC
"We love the Screenrights licence! The licence allows us to record a wealth of material, enabling us to enhance the educational experiences of our students."
- Anne Lennox RMIT University
