Research 101 Guide

Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act

In 2002, congress passed the "TEACH Act" which expanded section 110(1)  of the Copyright Act to grant educators infringement liability to perform and display copyrighted works in distance education (i.e. online classes). The "TEACH Act" granted educators unprecedented access to use copyrighted materials for online learning. 

Requirements 

1. Require the performance or display to be made by or at the direction of, or under the actual supervision of an instructor as an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the systematic mediated instructional activities of a governmental body or an accredited nonprofit education institution;
2.  Limit its reception to students officially enrolled in the course for which it is made or officers or employees of governmental bodies as a part of their official duties or employment; and
3. Require the transmitting body or institution to take specified actions to promote faculty, student, and staff compliance with copyright law. Requires the transmitting body or institution also, in the case of digital transmission, to: (1) apply technological measures that reasonably prevent retention of the work in accessible form by transmission recipients for longer than the class session, and any unauthorized further dissemination of the work in accessible form by such recipients to others; and (2) refrain from engaging in conduct that could reasonably be expected to interfere with technological measures used by copyright owners to prevent such retention or unauthorized further dissemination.

In 2002, congress passed the "TEACH Act" which expanded section 110(1)  of the Copyright Act to grant educators infringement liability to perform and display copyrighted works in distance education (i.e. online classes). The "TEACH Act" granted educators unprecedented access to use copyrighted materials for online learning. 

Requirements 

1. Require the performance or display to be made by or at the direction of, or under the actual supervision of an instructor as an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the systematic mediated instructional activities of a governmental body or an accredited nonprofit education institution;
2.  Limit its reception to students officially enrolled in the course for which it is made or officers or employees of governmental bodies as a part of their official duties or employment; and
3. Require the transmitting body or institution to take specified actions to promote faculty, student, and staff compliance with copyright law. Requires the transmitting body or institution also, in the case of digital transmission, to: (1) apply technological measures that reasonably prevent retention of the work in accessible form by transmission recipients for longer than the class session, and any unauthorized further dissemination of the work in accessible form by such recipients to others; and (2) refrain from engaging in conduct that could reasonably be expected to interfere with technological measures used by copyright owners to prevent such retention or unauthorized further dissemination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are professors allowed to stream entire copyrighted films during a lecture?
A: No. Professors should not stream entire films unless they have purchased a performance license.

Q: Are professors allowed to stream short clips of copyrighted films during a lecture?

A: The "TEACH Act" does grant professors the ability to use a small portion of a film that is tied to a learning outcome or specific part of the lecture. However, the "TEACH Act" only applies to non-profit institutions. Professors should use their professional judgment when incorporating films into their courses. 

Q: Are professors allowed to show films in the public domain?

A: Yes! Films in the public domain no longer have a copyright. 

Finding Films

Rocky Vista University has an existing relationship with vendors that provide streaming licenses to display films in class and online. Public performance licenses must be purchased by anyone hosting a movie night.

Streaming Platforms

• Swank Digital Campus 
  •  Sells streaming licenses for a mixture of popular films and documentaries.
    • Purchase Options
      • Semester 
      • Annual
    • Off-Campus Access
      • Accessible through the Electronic Resources Login Portal
•  DocuSeek
  • Sells streaming licenses for documentaries. DocuSeek maintains a robust collection of 400 medical titles through its "Health and Healthcare Collection."
    • Purchase Options
      • Week
      • Semester
      • Annual
    • Off-Campus Access
      • Accessible through the Electronic Resources Login Portal
    • Additional Information
      • DocuSeek allows professors to create clips of scenes that they want to cover in class. Each clip is given a unique URL. 
• Library of Congress
  • The Library of Congress hosts medical videos on their website that are in the Public Domain. Professors can use public domain films without a license.

This policy is not intended to act as a substitute for legal advice, and proper legal advice should be obtained when necessary.

The provision for "fair use" of a copyright protected work is found in the Copyright Act at Section 107. Under the "fair use" provision, a reproduction of someone else's copyright-protected work may be considered non-infringing if it is used for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research.

If the reproduction is for one of these purposes, then a determination of "fair use" will be guided by consideration of four non-exclusive factors:

1. The purpose and character of use (principally, whether for commercial or nonprofit educational use);

2. The nature of the copyright-protected work;

3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used; and

4. The effect of the contemplated use on the potential market for or value of the copyright-protected work.

Likely Fair Use

Copying three pages of a 120 page book and posting it via social media.

If the copied pages are not the "core" of the work in question, a favorable argument for "fair use" exists.

Gray Area - Opinions May Vary

Copying seven pages of a 120 page book and posting it.

The amount exceeds established standards for acceptable amounts by one page (i.e. greater than 5%). However, courts are not bound by established standards and the Copyright Act contains no such standards. Opinions will vary.

Likely a Violation of Copyright

Copying an entire book and posting it

Copying an entire book clearly weighs against a finding of "fair use" as the entire work is used.