News Flash! Roald Dahl is coming to Netflix!
Module 4 – Copyright
Recent buzz on social media from the announcement by Netflix that they are about to create an exclusive animated series of popular works by Roald Dahl has caught the attention of the teaching profession. This prompted debate amongst teachers on popular Facebook groups such as On Butterfly Wings-English & More, which I am a member of, as to whether the anticipated series would be legally accessible to use in classrooms. Understanding copyright laws is part of the professional responsibility of TL’s (Module 4 – Legal & Ethical Issues of Collections) and no doubt at some point, someone will invariably ask me this very question. So here it is: Yes you can, but first you need to know this…
Official statement by Netflix
Educational Screenings of Documentaries
Some Original educational documentaries are available for one-time educational screenings.
To find out which titles are available for educational screenings, go to the “Only On Netflix” section of media.netflix.com. From here, navigate to “All Alphabetical”.
Titles that are available for educational screening will display the following grant of permission on their details page:
GRANT OF PERMISSION FOR EDUCATIONAL SCREENINGS
Netflix is proud to present original documentaries that speak to our users in a meaningful way. We know that many of you are as excited about these films as we are; and because of their informational aspects, you’d like to show them in an educational setting — e.g., in the classroom, at the next meeting of your community group, with your book club, etc.
Consequently, we will permit one-time educational screenings of permitted documentaries. We use the term “one-time screening” to mean that you can’t hold screenings of the same documentary several times in one day or one week. However if, for example, you are an educator who wants to show a documentary once a semester over multiple semesters, that is permitted.
Educational screenings are permitted for any of the documentaries noted with this information, on the following terms:
- The documentary may only be accessed via the Netflix service, by a Netflix account holder. We don’t sell DVDs, nor can we provide other ways for you to exhibit the film.
- The screening must be non-profit and non-commercial. That means you can’t charge admission, or solicit donations, or accept advertising or commercial sponsorships in connection with the screening.
- Please don’t use Netflix’s logos in any promotion for the screening, or do anything else that indicates that the screening is “official” or endorsed by Netflix.
- We trust our users to respect these guidelines, which are intended to help you share and discuss our documentary content in your community.
To the extent your institution requires you to demonstrate that you have a license for your screening, please show them this page.
Excited much? What a fantastic opportunity for teaching and learning!
Reference
Combes, B., Fitzgerald, L. & Croft, T. (2018). Legal and ethical issues of collections [ETL503 Module: 4]. Retrieved from: Charles Sturt University website: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_32995_1&content_id=_2550575_1
Netflix Media Centre. (n.d.). Educational screenings of documentaries. Retrieved from: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/57695
Netflix Media Centre. (2018, November 27). Netflix to create exclusive slate of original animated event series from the iconic Roald Dahl story universe. Retrieved from: https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/netflix-to-create-exclusive-slate-of-original-animated-event-series-from-the-iconic-roald-dahl-story-universe