Teaching Online/WebCT

Fair Use and Teaching Online
TEACH Act
WebCT Scenarios

Fair Use and Teaching Online

The fair use exemption is medium-neutral; it applies to the use of both print and digital content alike. If you would like to make excerpts from journals, textbooks, and various other sources available online at your course WebCT/Vista site, you will want to consider whether that use is a fair use.

Fair use is determined by the results of understanding and weighing the four factors of fair use. You will need to conduct a four-factor fair use analysis for each work you want to use - each journal article, each textbook section, and any other work you wish to include on the class WebCT/Vista site. The result may be mixed and fair use might apply to some works while others may require permission from the rights owner for inclusion on the class website. Keep in mind also that certain restrictions on access to the work may impact the outcome of your analysis.

Note on Library Resources: if an article is obtained from the Libraries' electronic resources, it may be protected by a license agreement. Before posting a PDF of an article obtained from the library you need to understand the rules for use contained in the license agreement between the publisher and the Libraries. Often, the license agreements do not allow copying of PDF files and reposting them to a class web site or WebCT Vista site. However, in some cases you can make articles available to students from a course web page through a direct link. To learn how to link directly from your web page to an article available as an electronic resource from the Libraries, see Creating Links to Licensed Resources.

See also Working with Fair Use and the Fair Use Analysis Tool.

TEACH Act (Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act, 2002)

The TEACH Act (Section 110(2)) allows educators to perform or display copyrighted works in distance education environments. If you would like to show a video or display an image during your online class, you may want to consider whether that use is allowable under the TEACH Act.

Implementing TEACH can be difficult because of its complexity and the many detailed requirements for instructors, technologists, and institutions. The University of Minnesota is in the process of satisfying TEACH Act requirements, so that its provisions may be available to the University community.

Benefits of the TEACH Act

• Performances and displays of nearly all types of copyrighted works
• Transmission of digital materials to students at distant education locations
• Storage of copyrighted content for brief periods of time, such as that which occurs in the process of transmitting digital content
• Creating digital versions of print or analog works

Requirements of the TEACH Act

In order to take advantage of these benefits, instructors and institutions must meet certain policy requirements specified by the TEACH Act. Reasonable measures to assure that only enrolled students will have access to materials during the course of instruction must be in place before TEACH exemptions can be made. Below is a list of requirements:

• The teaching must occur at an accredited, nonprofit educational institution.
• Only lawfully acquired copies may be used.
• Use is limited to performances and displays. The TEACH Act does not apply to materials that are for students' independent use and retention, such as textbooks or readings.
• Use of materials must be within the context of "mediated instructional activities" analogous to the activities of a face-to-face class session.
• The materials to be used should not include those primarily marketed for the purposes of distance education (i.e. an electronic textbook or a multimedia tutorial).
• Only those students enrolled in the class should have access to the material.
• Reasonable efforts must be made to prevent students from distributing the material after viewing it.
• If a digital version of the work is already available, then an analog copy cannot be converted for educational use.
• Students must be informed that the materials they access are protected by copyright.
• The educational institution must have a policy on the use of copyrighted materials and provide informative resources for faculty advising them on their rights.

The requirements for complying with the TEACH Act are numerous. As opportunities for applying the TEACH Act are limited in scope, keep in mind that you may also consider to fair use when using copyrighted works in distance education settings.

TEACH Act Resources

"New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act" by Kenneth Crews

"Balancing Copyright Concerns: The TEACH Act of 2001," by Laura Gasaway, Educause Review. Nov/Dec 2001 (PDF)

"Slow Start for Long-Awaited Easing of Copyright Restriction," Chronicle of Higher Education. March 2003

TEACH Toolkit at North Carolina State University

More: WebCT Scenarios