Updating rules and procedures for archival preservations
Issues
This section addresses additional issues that relate to distance education—legal, disability, quality, and readiness.
Legal
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) addresses the demands of the digital and internet age and conformance to the requirements of the World Intellectual Property Organization.57 This is a complex act that is generally outside the scope of this chapter. This chapter highlights those areas of the law that might affect a distance learning program. DMCA protects any copyrightable work. Copyrightable work includes written text or literary works, visual works, graphic works, musical works, and codes that pass between computers.58 Key sections that affect distance learning include the following:
• Prohibiting the circumvention of protection technologies, including encryption or password-breaking programs, and the manufacturing of devices that defeat such protection measures
• Limiting liability of online service providers because of the content that users transmit over their services
• Expanding existing exemptions for making copies of computer programs under certain conditions
• Updating rules and procedures for archival preservations
• Mandating studies to examine distance education in a networked world59
DMCA also established the Takedown Notice, through which copyright holders can demand removal of infringing content. This requires the copyright holder to follow the appropriate process and procedures.
Since this is a complex law, students and faculty should check with the school’s legal counsel if they are in doubt about violating DMCA while preparing and posting educational materials for a distance course. Many schools also have a checklist that can be used as a guide to maintain compliance with this law. This checklist is often posted on the library website.