| On November 2, 2002, Congress signed
into law the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization
Act (TEACH Act). This amendment of the copyright code extends
to distance education many, but not all, of the rights that
educators enjoy in regard to displaying or performing copyrighted
works in the face-to-face classroom. The law imposes a number
of limits and conditions regarding the use of copyrighted material
in distance education, both on the individual instructor and
on the institution. The Academic Technology Committee has identified
areas where institutional policies and procedures need to be
in place to comply with the TEACH Act.
These guidelines are for the individual faculty member to
use in considering whether the work he or she wants to use
in an online class meets the requirements of the TEACH Act.
Important considerations include:
- Works that are sold or licensed for purposes of digital
distance education must be used in conformance with the
terms and conditions of the license.
- Only use lawfully made and acquired copies; in other words,
avoid pirated works, including any work copied from a television
broadcast.
- Limit use of works to an amount and duration comparable
to what would be displayed or performed in a live physical
classroom session.
- TEACH does not authorize the digital transmission of textbooks,
course packs and the like.
- It is very important that the digital performance or display
of a work is an integral part of a mediated instructional
activity. The instructor should supervise the transmission
of the work, and it should clearly be perceived as a required
class assignment, not as an optional reading or activity.
- Access to copyrighted works should be limited to students
enrolled in the course; these students should not be able
to copy the work or to retain it past the class session.
(see TEACH Act Guidelines for
Courseware)
- The instructor must notify students that any works shown
may be protected by copyright. In addition, the university's
general policy concerning copyright should be displayed
in connection with each course. (see TEACH
Act Guidelines for Courseware and UIS
Policy and Guidelines for Classroom Copying of Copyrighted
Material)
For more complete information, see the UIS
Policy and Guidelines for Classroom Copying of Copyrighted
Material.
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