TEACH Act

Sample Instructor Statements

Copyright laws and fair use policies protect the rights of those who have produced the material.

The copies in this course has been provided for private study, scholarship, or research. Other uses may require permission from the copyright holder. The user of this work is responsible for adhering to copyright law of the U.S. (Title 17, U.S. Code).  

The TEACH Act requires a copyright notice to be on online course websites.  The TEACH Act Toolkit offers the following sample copyright notice:

The materials on this course Web site are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course and may not be retained or further disseminated.

Disclaimer

I am not a lawyer and this guide does not constitute legal advice. If you have legal questions, please contact a lawyer.
— Nana Owusu-Nkwantabisa
 

What is the Teach Act?

§ 110(2) of U.S. copyright law, the Technology, Education And Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act, remedies many of the inconsistencies in the 1978 Copyright Law in regards to the distance education classroom. There are differences in what an instructor can do in the face-to-face classroom and what an instructor can do in a transmitted distance education course.

What Kinds of Uses Does the TEACH Act Authorize?

§ 110(2) of U.S. copyright law (the TEACH Act) allows nonprofit educational institutions and government bodies to transmit via digital networks:

  • performances of nondramatic literary or musical works;
  • performances of "reasonable and limited portions" of any other works;
  • displays of works "in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session.

Excepted are works "produced or marketed" primarily for such use and performances or displays given by means of copies the transmitting body has reason to believe were not lawfully made or acquired.

Permission to reuse content from Hoover Library, McDaniel College.