What is the TEACH Act?
The TEACH Act (Section 110(2) of U.S. Code Title 17) pertains to transmitting copyrighted material through streaming technology – such as making movie clips, sons, or other AV material available to students through your Blackboard course.
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 Teach Act does not apply to the use of works that are in the public domain (such as works where copyright has expired or federal information work) or the use of copyrighted material in Face-to-Face instruction.
What is the TEACH Act Checklist?
The TEACH Act checklist is an online form provided for you to evaluate compliance with the TEACH Act. It is required that you use the “TEACH Act Checklist” to document that your use of copyrighted material is covered under the TEACH Act.
Click here for TEACH Act Checklist form (*required)
What does the TEACH Act explicitly exclude?
- 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.
What does the TEACH Act allow?
- 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.”
What does the TEACH Act require?
- The transmission must be within a mediated educational context by an accredited, non-profit educational institution.
- The use must be limited to a specific number of students in an enrolled class.
- The use must be for “live” or asynchronous class sessions.
- The material can not include the transmission of textbook materials that would typically be purchased by students
- the material can not include works developed specifically for online use.
- only “reasonable and limited portions” that would be displayed during a live class session may be used.
The institution must have developed and publicized its copyright policies, specifically informing students that course content may be covered by copyright, and include a notice of copyright on the online materials.
The institution must implement some technological measures to ensure compliance with these policies,beyond merely assigning a password.