From: Scott Stangroom <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:26:13 -0500

Hi,  I think the sentence they have displayed on the home page of the
site says it all:

"On this site, you will find hundreds of documentaries that have been
found on the web, all in one place, all ready to watch."   Um, "found
on the web?  Right.

~Scott

______________________
Scott Stangroom
Acquisitions Coordinator
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
W.E.B. Du Bois Library
Acquisitions Dept.
Amherst, MA 01003-9275
[log in to unmask]

-----Original Message-----
From: "Schwartz, Judy" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2013 01:54:00 +0000

I would stay far far away.  You could always contact PBS, innocently
enough, and ask them if this vendor has a license to do this.
Usually, if it seems to good to be true, it isn't.

Judith K Schwartz
Sr. Director of Library Services
The Libraries @ Trocaire

________________________________________
From: "Hamaker, Charles" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:08:35 +0000

We've had some faculty discover the website of DocuWatch and are
asking about how legal it is to use it in classroom settings, course
management systems, syllabi, etc. Does anyone know if DocuWatch has
the rights to stream the videos they provide?  We can't find anything
on the web about the site other than mostly hype about the titles.
Any information would be helpful in evaluating the legality of the
videos they are providing.

They specialize in documentaries, including PBS station content not
available via streaming video from other sources. The lack of critical
commentary or mention from any source that might provide insight into
its legitimacy via a standard google search is notable.

What is the general feeling about just linking to a web site of
unknown copyright legality? Or displaying  video from an online source
without knowing about its legality, in an institutional setting for
educational purposes?

Thanks
Chuck Hamaker