Step 3a: TEACH Act Checklist
The TEACH Act (Section
110(2) of the Copyright Act) pertains to
transmitting copyrighted material through streaming technology – such as making
movie clips, songs, or other AV material available to students through your
course management system or some other password protected website.
There are several requirements that must be
met in order to benefit from the TEACH Act.
Use the "teach act checklist" to determine if your use of copyrighted material may
be covered under the TEACH Act.
Download the Word Document teach_act_checklist.doc
Even if the TEACH Act applies, you may still need to get permission from the
copyright holder if your use falls outside Fair Use.
This is what the TEACH Act covers:
-
Any transmission of copyrighted content to
students -- including distance students, or material posted to students as
homework on a server.
- The transmission must be within a mediated
educational context.
This is what the TEACH Act explicitly ALLOWS:
-
Performances of nondramatic literary works.
-
Performances of nondramatic musical works.
-
Performances of any other work, including
dramatic works and audiovisual works, but only in “reasonable and limited
portions.”
-
Displays of any work “in an amount
comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live
classroom session.”
This is what the TEACH Act does NOT cover:
-
The use of copyrighted material in
Face-to-Face education.
-
The use of works that are in the public
domain (such as works where copyright has expired or federal information work)
This is what the TEACH Act explicitly EXCLUDES:
-
Works that are marketed “primarily for
performance or display as part of mediated instructional activities transmitted
via digital networks.”
-
Performances or displays given by means of
copies “not lawfully made and acquired” under U.S. Copyright Act, if the
educational institution “knew or had reason to believe” that they were not
lawfully made or acquired.
This page is based on a paper by Kenneth D. Crews. “Copyright Law and
Distance Education: Overview of the TEACH Act.” Revised and Updated: August 17,
2010. http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/files/2010/08/teach-act-summary-by-kenneth-crews.pdf For more information about the TEACH Act go to:
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