The TEACH Act and Fair Use
The Technology, Education And Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act was signed into law by President Bush on November 2, 2002. The TEACH Act is the latest attempt by the U.S. Congress to remedy the discrimination faced by instructors and students in distance education. It is not the case that whatever the instructor can do in the face-to-face classroom the instructor can do in a transmitted distance education course.
The TEACH Act remedies many of the inconsistencies in the 1978 Copyright Law in regards to the distance education classroom but still leaves a number of barriers for both instructors and students in the distance education classroom environment.
The Act spells out responsibilities for administrators, technologies and instructors; those interested in more information may download an
overview of those responsibilies (PDF), or view a
TEACH Act Tutorial (PowerPoint).
For additional information or to have your questions answered, please contact the
Copyright and Intellectual Property Office.