The TEACH Act

Traditional Fair Use specifically applies to face-to-face classroom settings.  Online instructors could not use the Fair Use exception.  The problem was that Fair Use allowed limited copying and distribution only within the classroom.  Online instructors place content on the web which gives world-wide access.  As online teaching became more prevalent, legislators realized that changes needed to be made to accommodate online instruction.

The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act of 2002 updates copyright law to broaden instructors' legal use of copyrighted materials in online instruction at accredited nonprofit educational institutions-including on websites and other digital means--without permission from the copyright owner and without payment of royalties. Copyrighted materials that are included in this law include print, still images, audio recordings, video recordings, diagrams, charts, and graphs.  However, the law requires instructors to comply with specific and rigorous limitations when displaying or performing copyrighted works during online instruction.

Note: The law does not equate the use of copyrighted materials in online instruction to the use legally permitted for instruction in a physical classroom; therefore, instructors and institutions can not simply apply copyright law and fair use guidelines prescribed for classroom instruction to online instruction.

Essentially, as an instructor, the TEACH Act allows the use of copyrighted materials only if the materials are in a closed setting, that is, contained within a password-protected site so that only enrolled students may access the materials; an instructor must be in control of the materials; and the materials must be in support of learning and not for entertainment purposes.