**FIRST EMAIL**/FIRST on PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer tonight!

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by Kyle Fenton

Actually as far as I know PBS has a policy (or at least they had) that stated that it is alright to redistribute the programming on any of its TV shows as long it is not for profit, and is for educational purposes. When I was in school they used to show taped PBS shows all the time.

Then I am sure that you have somewhere - in writing - permission from PBS to redistribute their programming for an educational purpose. Short of that, whatever you may have heard second hand about their policies is irrelevant.

The MacNeil/Lehrer web site clearly states "Copyright ©2006. All Rights Reserved." The same notice shows up at the end of each segment of their show. This is a clear indication that they label their work product as uniquely theirs, and they own it. Their web site also provides clear, straightforward instructions for obtaining a transcript of the show to use for educational purposes. Nowhere in those instructions do they indicate that anyone may freely copy and redistribute their programming without their permission. In fact, the existence of instructions for how educational users should ask permission is a direct indication that their programming may NOT be freely used just because you intend to use it for "educational purposes." They also include this quite specific and directly on-point statement: "We're sorry, but NewsHour streaming video and audio clips are for PBS use only. You may not incorporate the media files directly into your site."

The intent of the MacNeil/Lehrer is quite clear. This is their intellectual property, not yours. If they choose to host a copy of the show on their web site, that is their choice. If you have copied it to your web site without their permission, then you are stealing. Period. No excuses.

-dave