universities and other tertiary institutions
New Zealand
Copying television and radio
With a Screenrights audiovisual copying licence, your staff can copy the best educational programmes for use in your tertiary institution - as often as they like.
A Screenrights licence lets you tape anything from television (pay-tv or free-to-air) or radio, without having to obtain permission from each of the rightsholders. There are no limits on the amount of a programme you can copy nor on the number of copies you can make. There are also no constraints on the type of programme you can copy nor on the channel from which you can make the copy.
Tertiary institutions covered under the Screenrights licence
The licence has been established under provisions in the New Zealand Copyright Act that provide tertiary institutions with access to an important educational resource while ensuring that the rightsholders who make the programmes educators want to use are paid for their work. Screenrights is a non-profit company that distributes all money it collects to the copyright owners in the programmes you tape, after deducting its administrative overheads only.
All New Zealand universities have a Screenrights licence. Most polytechnics and some Wanangas and colleges also have a licence. Please contact us to check if your tertiary institution has a licence.
Build your library's audiovisual collection
Documentaries, movies, current affairs and news are all important educational tools. In fact, you can tape and keep anything broadcast on free-to-air, pay-TV and radio.
Find out what's educational on TV - the easy way
Each week your institution will receive a free email TV guide with upcoming educational programme. You'll find this a real time-saver - there's no need to scan the traditional TV guides because we've selected only educational programmes for tertiary audience, from all channels, and structured them into separate learning areas. It's an easy way to plan taping schedules.
Once you have the licence, simply email your name, phone and your institution's name to tvednz@screenrights.org (with "subscribe" in the subject line), and the email guide will come to you weekly.
How to incorporate TV programmes in your teaching
There are over 450 free study guides and feature articles written by educators to help you with lesson planning. The email TV guide also keeps you updated with what's new.
Getting a Screenrights licence
For only $4.70 a student (less than the price of a movie ticket), your tertiary institution can give each student unlimited access to a world of teaching resources. Your institution can copy whatever it wants, whenever it wants. (The licence rate for tertiary institutions is current to 31 December 2006.)
Most of the time you don't even need to keep a record of what you've taped. Copying is monitored using statistical sampling. Tertiary institutions selected for the sample are given advance notice and training.
To apply for a Screenrights licence, please contact us.
Copying without a Screenrights licence
Your institution may be liable for copyright infringement under the New Zealand Copyright Act if you've copied TV programmes for the classroom, unless you've obtained permission from all the relevant copyright owners.
More information about the licence?
For a practical guide to copying and more, see also FAQs, or a summary in the Info Sheet - Universities, and the Info Sheet - Polytechnics, Wananga, Colleges.
Filming EnhanceTV on TTN, Network Ten
"Surviving in a contemporary English classroom with the technology demands of today would be very difficult indeed without the support of Screenrights licence to free up issues of copyright."
- Eva Gold Executive Officer English Teachers' Association NSW
