Stephen W. Watts
Northcentral University
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Overview
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Copyright principles
Intellectual Property Balance
Education before the TEACH Act
Fair Use Doctrine
Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization
(TEACH) Act of 2002
TEACH Act Impact on Instructors
TEACH Act Views
Questions
References
Copyright
 The U.S. Constitution provides protections
for creative works of the mind as long as
they meet three conditions:
 The work is original
 The work represents an expression, and
 The work is perceivable in a set form.
Intellectual Property Balance
Copyright law in generally based on a balance
between two competing interests:
 The creators, or copyright holders
economic interest to be able to profit from
their labors
 Society benefits from the sharing and
discovery of new knowledge
Distance Education
before the TEACH Act
 Required sharing of copyrighted material in
a physical classroom
 Precluded the transmission of copyrighted
material digitally online
Fair Use Doctrine
Five factors that are weighed to determine
fair use:
 The purpose of the work
 The nature of the work
 The amount of the work used
 Affect of the use on the potential market,
and
 Good faith
Technology, Education, and
Copyright Harmonization Act, 2002
“The TEACH Act is a clear signal that
Congress recognizes the importance of
distance education, the significance of
digital media, and the need to resolve
copyright clashes”
-- (Crews, n.d., Context of Distance Education, para. 1).
TEACH Act Impact on Instructors
 Limitations Imposed on Instructors
 Benefits of the Act on Instructors
 Subject Matter Considerations
 Transmission Conditions
Limitations Imposed on Instructors
 The amount of material used is comparable to a live,
face-to-face classroom.
 The material must be delivered under the direction of
an instructor
 The material has to be directly related to the course
topic
 The material is distributed only to enrolled students,
for a limited period of time
 Both instructor and students must demonstrate their
compliance with institutional copyright policies
Benefits to Instructors
 Expansion of copyrightable material that
falls under fair use
 Extends allowable locations to more than a
physical classroom
 Allows student retention of material for a
short period of time
 Allows conversion of analog works to digital
formats
Subject Matter Considerations
 Allowed
 Nondramatic literary works
 Nondramatic musical works
 Limited
 Any other works in “reasonable and limited portions” (17
U.S.C. § 110)
 Amounts comparable to that shown in “a live classroom
session” (17 U.S.C. § 110)
 Not allowed
 Commercially available educational materials (Crews,
n.d.)
 Copies “not lawfully made and acquired” (17 U.S.C. § 110)
Transmission Conditions
 Materials are accessible only to enrolled
students
 The transmission process is circumscribed
to the extent of technical feasibility.
TEACH Act Views
Views on the TEACH Act:
 Spreads the liability for infringement
around
 Doesn’t go far enough
 Opportunity and responsibility combined
 Destructive of knowledge advancement
 Hampers educators
 Intimidates educators
An Opinion
The original intent of the Copyright Act was “to promote
the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive
right to their respective writings and discoveries” (U.S.
Constitution, article 1, § 8).
The current system of control and limitation neither
promotes the good of society, nor limits the duration
of copyright protections.
The current system promotes the “slow extermination of
the public domain” (McDermott, 2012, p. 16) and runs
counter to the original intent of the Founders and of
the law.
Questions ?
What questions do you have regarding the TEACH Act
and its impact on distance learning and education?
References
Burgunder, L. B. (2011). Legal aspects of managing technology (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Crews, K. D. (n.d.). Distance education and the TEACH Act. Retrieved from American Library Association (ALA) website:
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=Distance_Education_and_the_TEACH_Act&Template=/ContentManagement/Cont
entDisplay.cfm&ContentID=25939
Dougherty, W. C. (2010). Managing technology: The copyright quagmire. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36, 351-353.
doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2010.05.020
Galin, J R., & Latchaw, J. L. (2010). From incentive to stewardship: The shifting discourse of academic publishing. Computers and
Composition, 27, 211-224. doi:10.1016/j.compcom.2010.06.010
Litman, J. (2001). Digital copyright. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Lyons, M. G. (2010). Open access is almost here: Navigating through copyright, fair use, and the TEACH Act. Journal of
Continuing Education in Nursing, 41(2), 57-64. doi:10.3928/00220124-20100126-03
McDermott, A. J. (2012). Copyright: Regulation out of line with our digital reality? Information Technology & Libraries, 31(1), 720. doi:10.6017/ital. v31i1.1859
Simon, D. A. (2010). Teaching without infringement: A new model for educational fair use. Fordham Intellectual Property, Media
& Entertainment Law Journal, 20(2), 453-561. Retrieved from http://law.fordham.edu/fordham-intellectual-property-mediaand-entertainment-law-journal/iplj.htm
Sun, J. C., & Baez, B. (2009). Intellectual property in the information age: Knowledge as commodity and its legal implications for
higher education. San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.
Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization, 17 U.S.C. § 110 (2002).
U.S. Constitution. article I, § 8.
Waxer, B. M., & Baum, M. L. (2006). Internet surf and turf revealed: The essential guide to copyright, fair use, and finding media.
Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology.
Wilson, L. (2005). Fair use, free use and use by permission: How to handle copyrights in all media. New York, NY: Allworth
Press.