Converting Legacy Media in the Digitization Studio

Georgetown University faculty, staff, and students who use the Digitization Hub to convert media from one format to another (e.g., VHS to a digital file or DVD) must be aware of applicable provisions of copyright law before using Library equipment for reformatting purposes. Under § 106 of the Copyright Law of the United States, the owner of the copyright in a work has the exclusive right to make copies of that work, unless an exception applies. When considering reformatting media, please note that individuals do not have an automatic right to reformat a work from one format to another. In order to legally convert media, your use must fall into one of the following categories:

• you own the copyright in the work,
• you have permission from the owner of the copyright, or
• you have done a fair use* analysis and have determined that fair use applies

You are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials you wish to digitize, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission to digitize if needed.

*The Copyright Act contains an exception for fair use, which allows the limited use of copyrighted materials for certain purposes, including teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, commentary, and news reporting. For more information on fair use and its limits, visit our Fair Use page. Please note that Library staff cannot assist you with determining what is or is not fair use; you are solely responsible for making that determination.