What is the TEACH Act?
The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) was signed into law in November of 2002. The Act revised an existing exemption in the Copyright Act to authorize, for digital distance education purposes, performances and displays of copyrighted works that are analogous to the kinds of performances or displays of such works that take place in a live classroom setting. Although the Act expands the categories of works that can be reproduced for distance education, the Act includes several additional safeguards to prevent the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, including: 1) requiring the performance or display of the work to be made by or at the direction of an instructor as an integral part of a class session; 2) requiring reception of the performance or display of the work be limited to students officially enrolled in the course for which it is made; 3) requiring transient copies to be retained only as long as reasonably necessary to complete the transmission
The TEACH Act allows instructors to perform or display copyrighted works in distance education environments. The Act has many potential advantages for the use of digital technology in teaching. In order to take advantage of these benefits, however, instructors, technologists, and institutions must meet many detailed requirements. The University of Minnesota is in the process of satisfying TEACH Act requirements so that its provisions may be available to the University community.
The TEACH Act (Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002, 17 U.S.C. § 110(2)) provides a list of distance learning activities exempt from the scope of copyright infringement. The law covers the scope of educators’ rights to perform and display works and to make the copies integral to such performances and displays for digital distance education. The Act applies to a virtual classroom, such as those faculty members create using the University’s course management software known as “ANGEL”. The rights identified by the TEACH Act are more restrictive than those applicable to face-to-face teaching. See http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/teachact.htm for a review of the TEACH Act and a handy checklist.
