Taping off-the-air is a murky area.  Much more murky than adapting
transmitting/adapting someone else's copyright work.
 
As I remember the rulings (I'm not a lawyer, or even close), time-shifting,
taping for later private viewing is o.k.  Taping for use in a single class,
say the next day or week, is probably o.k. under the general fair use
doctrine.  Taping a show off-the-air for continued use semester-after-
semester is probably illegal.
 
There are specific guidelines for some of these matters under the general
heading of "fair use."  Any reasonable size college library should be able
to get you a version of these guidelines.
 
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Cal Pryluck, Radio-Television-Film, Temple University, Philadelphia
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