The Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act
Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act
The Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act, passed in 2002 and signed into law by President George W. Bush, addresses some of the issues that require attention when planning and delivering distance education. The purpose of this act was to clarify acceptable use of copyrighted materials as it relates to distance education. Many of the responsibilities for compliance with this act are placed on the institution and its IT staff. The TEACH Act permits the performance and display of copyrighted materials for distance education under the following conditions:
• The institution is an accredited, nonprofit educational institution.
• Only students who have enrolled in the course can have access to these materials.
• The use must be for either “live” or asynchronous sessions (permits storage of the materials on a server).
• The institution must provide information to faculty and students stating that course materials may be copyrighted and provide access policies regarding copyright.
• The institution must limit access to the materials for the period of time necessary to complete the session or course.
• The institution must prevent further copying or redistribution of copyrighted materials.
• No part of the use may interfere with copy protection mechanisms.59–61
For the professor, the law includes the following:
• The materials must be part of mediated (systematic) instructional activities (i.e., relevant to the course).
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• The use must not include the transmission of textbook materials or other materials generally purchased or works developed specifically for online uses.
• Faculty can use only reasonable and limited portions of such materials, as they would typically use in a live classroom.
• The materials must be available only to registered students and not to guests or observers.
• Faculty must post a notice or message in the CMS that identifies the copyrighted materials and therefore precludes the student from copying or distributing these materials to others, as that would be a breach of copyright law.
• Faculty must pay attention to “portion” limitations (how much one can use).59–61
The latest attempt at revisions to the TEACH Act is H.R. 3505, introduced on November 15, 2013, for the purpose of developing accessibility guidelines for electronic instructional materials and related information technologies in higher education institutions. Congress.gov’s website (https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/3505) provides a copy of the bill, a summary of the bill, as well as information on the progress of this bill, which is still in the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training as of October 14, 2016.
Consult the school’s policy and legal and library authorities when in doubt about materials necessary for the course. The American Library Association has an excellent website that further explains the roles of the institution (administrators or policy-makers and IT staff), faculty, and librarians.