FAQs: Technological protection measures (TPMs) or Digital Rights Management (DRMs)

Technological protection measures are technical ‘locks’ like passwords, access codes or encryption that prevent users accessing or reproducing copyright material.

Digital Rights Management or DRM is an umbrella term that covers a variety of TPMs and ERMI or any digital locks, passwords, encryption, signatures, watermarks or access codes that control use, copying or access to electronic material. Examples of DRM are the Sony rootkit device, the Content Scrambling System (CSS) on DVDs or Apple’s FairPlay system.

Electronic rights management information or ERMI are information attached or embedded in a file or material eg a digital signature or watermark. ERMI might consist of the name of the author of the file or the author and copyright owner and how they can be contacted or information about how the material can be used. Terms of a licence attached to a file, such as a creative commons licence might be considered ERMI.

You can show scenes from TV shows or films in class for teaching purposes, as long as the copy is legitimate (not a ‘pirated’ copy) and the audience is made up of students in the class only. Refer to Using sound and vision on the Teaching page and see also the FAQs for using AV content for teaching purposes.

If you want to copy or edit a DVD (ie a purchased or 'commercial' DVD, like those available through retail outlets or educational suppliers) you would normally need permission from the copyright holder. The exception would be where the DVD in question is actually a TV broadcast that was recorded or copied in reliance on our Screenrights licence (see Using sound and vision on the Teaching page). In very rare cases the University might also rely on the ‘special case’ allowance (Section 200AB of the Copyright Act) to make a copy but reliance on this 'special case' allowance depends heavily on meeting very stringent requirements. Please consult the Copyright Adviser if you think your need to copy is a 'special case'.

There is no blanket exception in the Copyright that allows copying of audio visual material for teaching, unless the material is copied from a broadcast under the Screenrights licence. Even if the copying is a 'special case' (section 200AB), it still may not be legal (or possible) to copy the material if it requires circumventing copy protection like CSS. This kind of copy protection may prevent you copying any commercial DVDs for example. Please contact the Copyright Adviser if considering this activity.

You may be able to make a copy and show small parts of TV shows or films if it is for research and study or criticism review (or parody and satire) and the copying and showing of the material is 'fair' (see fair dealing). The parameters of the 'fair dealing' allowance are most uncertain and so it would always be preferable to obtain permission from the copyright holder. However, even if your use could be seen as a 'fair dealing', you would not be legally allowed to circumvent a TPM. This may mean that most commercial DVDs cannot be copied at all. Please contact the Copyright Adviser if considering this activity.

You may be able to copy a DVD if it is for the purposes of research and study or criticism and review and the amount copied is fair: see fair dealing. But if the DVD has copy protection technology like CSS it may be a breach of anti-circumvention legislation to use a circumvention device to copy the material. Please contact the Copyright Adviser if considering this activity.

If a DVD is protected by copy protection such as CSS (as most commercially available DVDs are) you cannot circumvent that protection, even to take advantage of one of the allowances within the Copyright Act (such as 'fair dealing' or the 'special case' allowance). You would have to try and obtain the material in an unprotected format (possibly VHS or a Screenrights copy). Alternatively, you could seek permission from the copyright owners to circumvent the copy protection (otherwise known as DRM or TPM). Note: If the DVD or material has a watermark it is also a breach of copyright to remove that watermark under protection for electronic rights management information (ERMI).