Broadcasts are as a rule protected by copyright

Radio and television broadcasts are protected by the Danish Copyright Act. Therefore you are generally only allowed to use them for e-learning purposes if you have been granted permission by the copyright holders.

What is copyright protected?

Firstly, The Danish Copyright Act protects the actual broadcasts.

Secondly, the Act protects the creative work that may be part of the broadcasts. In a television discussion programme the actual programme is protected under one section of the Act, and the contributions of the participants are protected as minor literary work under another section. And in a radio interview the actual radio programme is copyright protected as a radio programme, whereas the interview is literary work to which the interviewer and the interviewee have the copyright.

Read more about copyright protection in Ophavsret for begyndere – a beginner’s guide to copyright, chapter 3 (available in Danish only).

When can you use copyright protected broadcasts for e-learning purposes without asking the copyright holders?

  • If your educational institution has an agreement with Copydan AVU-medier stipulating that teachers are allowed to use broadcasts for e-learning purposes, you can use broadcasts as defined in the agreement.

See your possibilities at www.avumedier.dk

  • You are allowed to use quotations from radio and television broadcasts, that is, borrow a small part of it and use what you have borrowed in your own e-learning material. It is only a quotation if what you borrow has just a limited extent in the broadcast as well as in the e-learning material. When using quotations from television broadcasts, the quotation must be used as “moving images”. Using a still from a television broadcast, however, does not constitute a quotation. If you want to use a still as part of your e-learning material, you must follow the rules and regulations governing the use of images in e-learning.

I’m only going to place the broadcasts in a closed group forum on an intranet. Surely that is all right?

No, it is not. The Copyright Act does not generally discern between placing works on the Internet or an intranet.

Is it legal to link to copyright protected broadcasts for e-learning purposes?

You can link to copyright protected broadcasts which have been lawfully posted online. Read about linking in the article on linking here at www.undervislovligt.dk.

Where to get copyright permission if needed?

If you are not in a position where you are allowed to use a radio or television broadcast for e-learning purposes without permission, you need permission to do so.

The easiest way is to contact Copydan AVU-medier and ask them to help obtain the necessary permissions.

Broadcasts from Radio Denmark’s archives, etc.

Sometimes your educational institution will already have copyright permission, for example because it has an agreement with Radio Denmark which entitles teachers to use copyright protected broadcasts from Radio Denmark’s archives for e-learning purposes. This does not imply that you can use copyright protected broadcasts without permission: you have simply been given permission.

You can read more about your possibilities at dr.dk/gymnasium and dr.dk/skole.

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