The Student Room Group

Video recorders in lectures?

Am I allowed to take in a video camera to record the lecture? This is for law btw.




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Reply 2
I'd ask each individual lecturer if I were you - see what they're comfortable with :smile:
Reply 3
Original post by Incredimazing
Am I allowed to take in a video camera to record the lecture? This is for law btw.




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Not without permission (which is unlikely to be granted) - it's an infringement of copyright otherwise.
As everyone has said already. You might get away with a dictaphone but video recording is almost definitely not allowed because of issues regarding distribution and the effects of that.
Okok, thanks. But a cheeky dictaphone is fine though? :smile:


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Reply 6
Original post by Incredimazing
Okok, thanks. But a cheeky dictaphone is fine though? :smile:


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I would ask the lecturer's permission beforehand. You might know that law lecturers are going to be more fiercely protective of their intellectual property than other departments. :rolleyes:
Reply 7
Original post by Tortious
I would ask the lecturer's permission beforehand. You might know that law lecturers are going to be more fiercely protective of their intellectual property than other departments. :rolleyes:


Why is that?
Reply 8
Original post by Juichiro
Why is that?


I don't have statistics to prove it. :p: My point was just that because law lecturers are so hot on intellectual property law, they're likely to have enough of a working knowledge to (want to) stamp out people potentially "stealing" their content and sharing it elsewhere. (If it were all freely available, nobody would buy their textbooks. :wink:)

The lecturers at my university seemed pretty...uncompromising when it came to the "no recording" rule, unless you had a disability - and even then you had to write to the Faculty for a permission slip. (I'm not sure whether individual lecturers could refuse even if you had the slip though.)
Tbh it's not just law lecturers that are keen on keeping their lectures to themselves: some of my philosophy lecturers during honours were fiercely protective of lecture material (to the point of not issuing any) because they were currently doing research in that area.

Rule of thumb: Ask if you could sit a dictaphone near the front of the lecture theatre or on their lectern (the wee desk they stand behind whist giving lectures) but in general that sort of thing is only for kids that have dyslexia or some other learning impediment, so don't rely on your being allowed this luxury.
Original post by Incredimazing
Am I allowed to take in a video camera to record the lecture? This is for law btw.




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Not usually. Lecturers are fiercely protective of their classes - other universities could plagiarise their work. I used to record lectures on my iPhone, copy them up, and then delete them. NEVER upload them online.
Ok. I'll try my iPhone then. I may be wrong, but don't Exeter upload their lectures online as videos or something?


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It isnt just about a lecturer's copyright.

Its also about privacy - you cant just take photos/video in any sort of public place like a lecture hall where you might record other people, for a whole heap of reasons.

Voice recording might be okay but you MUST get the lecturer's permission.
Reply 13
Original post by returnmigrant
It isnt just about a lecturer's copyright.

Its also about privacy - you cant just take photos/video in any sort of public place like a lecture hall where you might record other people, for a whole heap of reasons.

Voice recording might be okay but you MUST get the lecturer's permission.


Actually legally you are allowed to take photos (not 100% if the same rules apply to video), including photos of people, in a public place. Obviously if a person asks you not to capture them that's fine and it's advisable not to, but ultimately, anything like that is allowed.

However, the grey area is - is a university lecture hall really a public or private place? And regardless of this, there's a difference between taking photos in a public place and essentially making a copy of someone's lecture materials so yeah, all the grey areas, basically - talk to your lecturers - they shouldn't get mad at you just for asking.
Reply 14
Original post by returnmigrant
It isnt just about a lecturer's copyright.

Its also about privacy - you cant just take photos/video in any sort of public place like a lecture hall where you might record other people, for a whole heap of reasons.

Voice recording might be okay but you MUST get the lecturer's permission.


Lecture rooms are private land since it is owned by the uni, its not public place and you need permission from the lecturer and maybe the uni (if the uni gives permission feel free to without asking the lecturer, he may ask questions however)

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Original post by kumori
Lecture rooms are private land since it is owned by the uni, its not public place and you need permission from the lecturer and maybe the uni (if the uni gives permission feel free to without asking the lecturer, he may ask questions however)

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If the university gives permission, individual lecturers can still refuse to be recorded, unless the permission is given on disability grounds.

Most lecturers are happy to be recorded on a dictaphone if there's a reason (such as dyslexia, english as a 2nd language).

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