use of ELMO to present book being read to a group

January 29, 2009 @ 12:34pmLuci Wright says:
We want to have a guest reader for a large group of children at our elementary school for Read Across America Day. Is it permissible to use an ELMO to project the book as it's being read so that the children may see the pictures? I have not been able to find an answer to this in the copyright texts that I have; however, I remember hearing either at a meeting or on a librarian's listserv that there might be some copyright issues with projecting the whole book.

Thank you!
January 30, 2009 @ 11:40amksmith says:
Let me call your attention to section 109(c) of the copyright act, which is a portion of the so-called first sale exceptions to the exclusive rights:

"Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106(5) [the exclusive right of public display] the owner of a particular copy lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to display that copy publicly, either directly or by the projection of no more than one image at a time, to viewers present at the place where the copy is located."

Unless I am missing something, this provision seems to have been specifically written to allow the activity you describe. The section authorizes projection of only one image at a time, but does not seem to limit the total number of images. As I say, it seems to have been drafted to permit public display of pictures as part of a story time.

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