TEACH ACT

Copyright, Fair Use and Online Instruction

AIM
The aim of this presentation is to:
Define the purpose and rationale for the TEACH Act
Introduce educators to the components of the TEACH Act that will
impact their design and use of copyrighted materials for online
instruction as compared to face-to-face teaching
Demonstrate the role that fair use standards play in using copyrighted
materials for online instruction

What is a copyright?
The Congress shall have Power
To promote the Progress of Science
and useful Arts, by securing for
limited Tmes to Authors and
Inventors the exclusive Right to
their respective Writings and
Discoveries
U.S. Constitution, Article 1,
Section 8

A copyright is a form of
protection provided to the
authors of original works of
authorship, including
literary, dramatic, musical,
artistic, and certain other
intellectual works.
This protection is available to
both published and
unpublished works.
Section 106 of the 1976
Copyright Act generally
gives the owner of copyright
the exclusive rights over the
original works.

Why do teachers need to know about

copyright?
Technology has made it so that teachers have access
to an unlimited number of resources with a few
clicks of a button.
While all of these resources may be used to benefit
the education of students, teachers still have a
responsibility to respect the authors ownership of
these resources.
Teachers need to know how and when to properly
use copyrighted materials and model this behavior

Copyright, Fair Use and Education by

Carter Law Firm

Fair Use for Educators - Copyright Act

1976,
Section
1. purpose
and criteria107
for the
use;
2. the nature of the
copyrighted work;
3. The amount and
substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the
copyrighted work;
4. the effect of the use upon
the potential market for, or
value of, the copyrighted
work

Fair Use standards and online instruction

Fair Use standards have guided
educators in using works in faceto-face classroom settings.

But as education incorporates

more technology changes were
needed to address the use of
copyrighted works used for
online instruction.

TEACH Act
Technology,
Education
And
Copyright
Harmonization
Signed into law in
2002

Applies to accredited, nonprofit

institutions
This act redefines the terms
and conditions on which
accredited, nonprofit
educational institutions
throughout the U.S. may use
copyright protected
materials in distance
education-including on
websites and by other digital
means--without permission
from the copyright owner
and without payment of
royalties.
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/copyright/teac
hact

Reason for the TEACH Act

As remote and distance
education became
increasingly more prevalent
a disparity between what
copyrighted works an
educator may copy and
display in a face-to-face
setting compared to what
was authorized to be used in
distance education became
a concern.
https://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/teach
act.html

The issue behind the TEACH Act

was to expand the rights of
educators to digitize and
post materials for classes in
an online platform.

Does the TEACH Act provide the same

rights to teachers in distance education as
those
in face-to-face teaching?
No, the TEACH Act has expanded rights for distance education teachers
but there is still a gap as compared to what face-to-face teachers as
authorized to use.
For example: In a face-to-face classroom setting an instructor may use
and show any work in any medium, provided that it relates to the
curriculum and is being used for educational purposes, without limits
or permissions.
However, even under the TEACH Act, some of those materials would
need to be limited in order to show them to distant students or make
them available over the Internet to face-to-face students. The
audiovisual works and dramatic musical works may only be shown as

TEACH Act criteria for use of copyrighted

materials
Limiting access to materials
Materials must be integral to
so that they are only
accessed during the lessons
they relate to.
This is referred to as
Mediated Instructional
Activities

the
class session. No
background or supplemental
materials are covered by the
TEACH Act.
Fair Use Standards would
need to be relied on for
supplementary materials.

TEACH Act criteria for use of copyrighted

materials
Only add clips of video or
Its not something the
portions of documents.
What would you show or
demonstrate in a face-toface environment?

students would normally

purchase.

What if your intended use is not covered

by the TEACH Act?
As with any copyrighted material there is always the
option to seek permission from the copyright
holder to use or display a certain work.
Find a similar source in the public domain.
Fair Use standards can be used

In summary.with the TEACH Act you can

You can use reasonable and limited portions of
audiovisual works and dramatic musical works
You can use the entirety of certain works.
For example:
You can transmit an entire NON-dramatic
literary work or NON-dramatic musical work

In summary.with the TEACH Act you can

You can use and post any works that would
be the same amount used in a face-to-face
mediated instruction environment to an
online or distance education course.

TEACH Act Checklist:

https://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/teachact.h
tml