Audio/Video Recording Policy - Documents

ACM SIGCHI AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING POLICY

Effective Date: January 1, 1995
Approved Date: September 7, 1994
Responsible SIGCHI Officer: Vice-Chair for Operations

Preface
Purpose
Policy
Administration
Appendix

Preface

The ACM SIGCHI Executive Committee (EC) has developed a an Audio/Video (A/V) Recording Policy in order to guide event organizers at conferences. This was recognized as an urgent need because of requests for video recording of conferences (e.g., CHI'xx) and local meetings (e.g. San Francisco BayCHI) which attract many distinguished speakers. Video tapes of meetings are useful to the SIGCHI membership because:

People need to see a presentation but were unable to attend a meeting
A particular presentation becomes a "classic" which deserves wide distribution

The policy deals with several questions to which in the past there were no official answers, such as:

The wording of releases from speakers
The copying of tapes
The control of archival material (Who gets copies, what can they do with it? Who polices the program?)
The costs of oversight of a "library" system

The policy evolved in draft form for many months. A proposal ready for a vote by the Executive Committee circulated within the EC and appeared for member comment on Vision.chi in August, 1994. This was also reviewed by ACM headquarters staff. During development of the Policy, the following questions were resolved:

Q:: Taping for transcription: would the policy proscribe it?
A:: If transcribed, the recording would be cleared for transcription purposes only: it should be stated explicitly if the tape is edited.

Q:: "Future use": does SIGCHI have to go back to the speaker for permission every time a tape is shown?
A:: No. The permission should state "any and all future use, unless revoked." If the product is to be used for any different use than the one for which it was originally released, permission must be sought for the different use from all speakers involved.

Q:: What happens when someone withdraws permission after a tape is made?
A:: SIGCHI would appoint a person to communicate with the speaker and resolve the issue.

Q:: Do we have to get permission from people who ask questions from the audience?
A:: No one should be recorded without permission of some sort, including questioners. If an announcement is made that the session is being recorded, then individuals in the audience who choose to participate give their implicit permission. No releases are required.

Q:: What is the copyright status of the tapes?
A:: ACM owns the copyright.

As can be seen from this short excerpt, many of the questions raised by consideration of an A/V policy are complex and involve legal and liability issues which are very important to the whole organization.

The SIGCHI EC would like to thank the many SIGCHI members and ACM staff who contributed to the evolution of this policy.

Purpose

The SIGCHI Executive Committee (EC) recognizes the value of maintaining audio and/or video records of some SIGCHI events for educational and archival purposes or for subsequent transcription into an edited form.

Creation of an audio/video record should be secondary to the purpose of the event being recorded. The fact and process of recording should be planned so as to have minimal impact on the nature of the conference or event.

If a verbatim recording is being made (for whatever purpose), that fact must be known to all involved, and permission must be obtained in advance. ACM Headquarters supplies and maintains permission and release forms. Sample release forms current at the time of policy approval are attached as an Appendix. Personal rights to privacy must be maintained, and conversational spontaneity should be preserved to the largest extent possible.

If it is determined at some future time that the SIGCHI policy and administrative procedure outlined here and ACM policy and administrative procedure conflict, ACM policy and procedure shall be followed.

Policy

Conditions:

Any recording of a SIGCHI event is subject to the following conditions:

All audio or video (audio/video) records of conference events are made at the discretion of the Conference Chair(s). Similarly, audio/video records of other SIGCHI events may be created at the discretion of the event chair(s). Conference Chairs and event chairs may seek guidance from the EC.
Creation of an audio/video record requires that an ACM authorization and release form be signed by the speaker(s) prior to recording (see the Appendix.) This release may be revoked post-facto after the participants have reviewed the draft results.
Future use of archive audio/video records beyond the original agreement requires that those in the original record must sign new releases specifying the new purpose.
Any costs connected with the creation of an audio/video record must be budgeted and are to be paid by the organizers of the event (i.e. Conference) unless funding is specifically authorized by the SIGCHI EC. Similarly, distribution or sale must be budgeted in a way that recovers costs unless the SIGCHI EC specifically sets up a budget item to cover such use.

Recommendations:

The SIGCHI EC recommends creating a video record of all plenary talks at CHI conferences. If a recording is made, a complimentary copy should be made available to the speaker for "non-commercial use."
The SIGCHI EC recommends adoption of a similar policy by local SIGs for creating archival records of their events as, and if, resources are available for this purpose.

Administration

Maintenance and administration of this policy is the responsibility of the Vice-Chair for Operations.

Transcriptions

Approval must be obtained from session participants with the understanding that the recording is ONLY for transcription purpose unless otherwise cleared (as in the policy). It is the responsibility of the Conference Chair or the chair of the event to supervise the process.

The resulting edited transcript will be reviewed and cleared by those whose activities were recorded.

Participant Releases

The form of the release (one time only, blanket) will depend on the event (see Appendix.) The broadest form would allow any and all SIGCHI future use.

Audience Release

If an announcement is made that the session is being recorded, then individuals in the audience who choose to participate give their implicit permission. No releases are required. We suggest that a statement to this effect appear in the event program and be announced at each session.

Unauthorized Recording

Private recording is not allowed without permission. The event chair is authorized to request that the recording be stopped.

Transcription Publication

Publication of any record requires the approval of all participants whose material is represented in the record.

Logistical Details

Questions of archives, formats, retrieval procedures, expenses for distribution, etc. are beyond the scope of this policy. The SIGCHI Chair is authorized to establish ad hoc procedures which may eventually be incorporated in a revised policy and administrative procedure.

Copyright

As with the general rule for ACM materials, ACM maintains ownership of the copyright.

Appendix

Attached are forms current at the time of the establishment of this Policy. If ACM Headquarters concurs, special forms may be created to meet special needs.

ACM Office of Publications     (as of February, 1994)

PERMISSION AND RELEASE FORM FOR VIDEOTAPE PRESENTATIONS

Event: ______________

I understand that this event is being videotaped, and I hereby grant
permission for the ACM to include my presentations and comments, in
any and all forms, in these records and recordings.  I further grant
permission for the ACM to transcribe and reproduce these records and
recordings, if ACM chooses to, and for ACM to distribute or sell
these records, recordings and transcripts, in complete or partial
form, and in translation, on videocassette, broadcast, cablecast,
CDROM, laser disc, multimedia, print, electronic text, and any other
media format now or hereafter known.

I agree that ACM has the right to use my image, voice, pronouncements,
and likeness recorded herein, and my name and any and all biographical
material submitted by me in connection with the Event named above, for
purposes of the reproduction and distribution described above, and for
any associated advertising or exhibition, whether used in excerpts or
in full.

I understand that ACM and others will invest considerable resources in
reliance on the permissions and releases herein.  I understand that
the ACM is under no obligation to exercise any or all of the rights,
licenses, or privileges herein granted.  I hereby release and
discharge ACM and other Event sponsors, funders, and organizers from
any and all liability arising out my participation in the Event, or in
connection with the performance of any of the activities described in
this document as permitted herein, including but not limited to my
rights of privacy or publicity, copyrights, patent rights, trade
secret rights, moral rights, or trademark rights.

All permissions granted by me and all releases by me herein shall be
effective in perpetuity and throughout the universe.  All permissions
and releases herein extend and apply to the ACM and its assigns,
contractors, sublicensees, distributors, successors, and agents.

In the event that any materials used in my presentation contain the
work of other individuals or organizations (including any copyrighted
musical compositions or excerpts thereof), I understand that it is my
responsibility to secure any necessary permissions and/or licenses.
Small performing rights licenses must be secured for the public
performance of any copyrighted musical compositions in film or video
presentations.

Yes ___  No  ____  I have the necessary rights and/or permissions
                   to use the works of others
_______________                        ______________________
Signature                              Date


ACM Office of Publications     (as of February, 1994)

PERMISSION AND RELEASE FORM FOR AUDIO

Event: ______________

The ACM may audiotape the session in which you appear as a speaker to
make it available to those who are unable to attend the meeting.
Before we can duplicate and disseminate the audio of the session, we
require a signed release from you.

The undersigned does hereby give consent to and authorize the
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and its licensees to make
recordings and transcriptions of that part of the annual meeting
noted below, and to sell, use, and reuse the program and recordings in
whole or in part, in any media now or hereafter known.

It is understood that no substantive editing of the content will be
done.  Any editing will be of a mechanical nature including but not
limited to attaching leaders, deleting pauses, and such.

It is hereby acknowledged that any opinions expressed are the sole
responsibility of the undersigned and in no matter reflect policies
or opinions of the ACM.

It is understood that in the event that any materials used in this
presentation contain the work of other individuals or organizations
(including any copyrighted musical compositions or excerpts thereof),
it the responsibility of the undersigned to secure any necessary
permissions and/or licenses.  Small performing rights licenses must be
secured for public performance of any copyrighted musical composition.

_______________________           _____________________
Name of Conference                Name of Session

______________________            _____________________
Signed                            Date

I must decline to be audiotaped because ____________________