TEACH Act exemptions to copyright law were created in 2002 to address copyright issues in distance and online education. You will find them in Section 110(2) of the copyright law. TEACH Act compliance requires support across the institution.
- The performance/display of the work must be at the direction of the instructor, and integral to the content of the class.
- The non-profit educational institution must have copyright policies in place at the institutional level, and actively educate and inform faculty, staff, and students about copyright compliance; there must be a notice to students that the materials used may be subject to copyright protection.
- Access to the work must be limited only to students enrolled in course; an effort should be made to prevent students from retaining works for longer than the class session.
If these conditions are met, instructors can use:
- Performances of a non-dramatic literary or musical work - one that is instrumental or intended to be read
- Reasonable and limited portions of other works (use Fair Use 3rd factor to evaluate); comparable to what could be used in face-to-face classroom instruction.
Works not usable under TEACH act:
- Digitization of works marketed for online education
- Works made from copy not lawfully acquired
