As you prepare for virtual graduations and other programs, we want to bring to your attention the need to be vigilant about reminding your staff about the importance of adhering to copyright laws.
While all of us are always mindful of this, in this increasingly virtual COVID-19 environment we are seeing three things are occurring:
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There is an increase in the use of videos and other content (and often music associated) online.
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There is an increase of violations that are being flagged and found by social media platforms.
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There is an increase in the policing of copyrights by the copyright owners.
Where this can easily come into play for you, in application, is at an event like graduation. While you might have rights to play a song at graduation, your rights might not extend to publishing that music clip online or on a different platform. That might mean, for example, that your district can be banned from a social media platform (or worse).
For those districts who are with us for social media services right now, bear in mind that we will do our part to help you monitor this. That said, the more awareness and self-policing that occurs, the better.
To make sure your district steers clear of any violations, please make sure staff and others within your district are aware. To assist you, here is a link containing more information from Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/help/
As always, please reach out to us with any questions.
