Example
Scenario:
In order to work out the characteristics of communication together with her students in the next lecture, Prof. Musterfrau would like to make videos available in the Moodle course in which the communication of animals with each other can be observed (e.g., courtship behaviour of the paradise bird). She is looking for suitable videos on the Internet.
Answer:
Prof. Musterfrau is advised to link to videos within her Moodle course instead of downloading them.
Downloading and subsequent provision would only be possible if the video is no longer than 5 minutes, if no more than 15% of a longer video is used, or if the video was previously published on the Internet under a free CC licence.
Legal Considerations
Linking or embedding is recommended
In order to make videos or video or audio podcasts available to students on Moodle , it is recommended that they either be linked or embedded in the Moodle course. In this case, the video remains on the internet portal/server on which the rights holder uploaded it; a copy of the video is not created on additional servers.
Downloading and (re-)making available on another server would constitute an encroachment on the author's right to reproduce and distribute and thus requires the author's consent.
Quotation rights often do not apply
The right of citation §51 UrhG , which allows copyrighted works or parts of a work to be included in one's own work without having to ask the author for permission, often does not apply here, as the first basic condition “inclusion in one's own work” is not met. It is only made available within the Moodle course.
§60a UrhG only conditionally possible
Within the framework of § 60a UrhG , it is permitted to make up to 15% of a published work available to the students of your course (also digitally) within an access-restricted framework. Applied to the use of videos, the hurdles are the technical feasibility of linking and the meaningfulness of the video excerpt.
Nonetheless, within the framework of Section 60a(2), it is also permitted to use works of small extent in their entirety. A video or piece of music that is no longer than 5 minutes is considered a small-scale work and could therefore be used 100% if the didactic context requires this level of use.
There is, however, a taboo zone in which any use without permission is excluded: films and music that are less than 2 years old may only be used with the permission of the rights holder. Permissions (licences) can be obtained from the State Image office.
Note on Video Embedding
Common video portals such as YouTube or Vimeo often offer a so-called embed code via the “Share” function, with the help of which the desired video can be embedded.
BUT:
In the case of embedded videos, it must be recognisable that it is an external source. Because the design gives the impression of an own contribution, the external source must be indicated.
What alternative is there if a link does not seem suitable to me and use within the meaning of Section 60a UrhG is not possible?
Check to see if you can find suitable videos that are provided under a free Creative Commons Licence (CC) .
These allow basic use with regard to reproduction, further distribution and making available to the public. The conditions under which the author grants these rights of use (for example, whether editing is permitted) and the rules on correct source citation for a CC-licensed work must be observed .
Not all CC licences allow free use of a work (see details in the section securing free use on the CC licences page). It is necessary to read the licence conditions before using the work.
For example, on the video portal vimeo there are corresponding search filter settings , to specifically find videos with CC licences. The same is possible on youtube, but no download is allowed there!
It is also worth looking specifically for videos that have been published as Open Educational Resource (OER) , as these usually have a CC licence.
However, it is important to bear in mind the dilemma that with YouTube videos it is sometimes unclear who the author(s) of the video provided are (see additional information "challenges with film quotations " on the quotation rights page).
Legally Verified
The content of this page has been reviewed by Jan Hansen, Ass. jur.
