Copyright Information

17 U.S.C. § Section 110(1) - Classroom Setting

Section 110(1) of the Copyright Law of the United States allows for teaching performances and displays of protected works in a face-to-face classroom setting or similar place used for instruction of a nonprofit educational institutions. Such works include the showing of a film, playing music, performing a play, or projecting images, and other types of performances and displays of copyrighted works in classroom, as long as the work was lawfully acquired. 

17 U.S.C. § Section 110(2) - Distance Education

Section 110(2) of the Copyright Law of the United States allows similar use of work in online classes. Specifically, it allows for the following: 

• performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work
• performance of reasonable and limited portions of any other types of work
• display of a work in an amount comparable to that which would be shared in a face-to-face classroom session

However, there are a number of caveats concerning copyright and its use as part of distance education, including but not limited to the following: 

• the school must be a government body or an accredited nonprofit educational institution
• the content must be related to the teaching content
• content should be limited to students officially enrolled in the course
• institution should have a copyright policy and provide informational materials that promote copyright compliance to faculty, students, and relevant staff members
• institution should use technology that reasonably prevents
  • retention of the work in an accessible form by the user after the class session concludes; and
  • unauthorized dissemination of the work in accessible form to others
• the institution should not interfere with technological measures by copyright owners to prevent retention or unauthorized dissemination

For assistance in determining if your intended use falls within the TEACH Act please refer to the TEACH Act Checklist from the University of Texas Copyright Crash Course.

Developed by Georgia Harper and now maintained by the University of Texas Libraries, the TEACH Act checklist is a helpful to to assist in determining if your intended use of a work meets the requirements as set forth within the TEACH Act and 17 U.S.C § 110(1) and (2).   

Ready to use the TEACH Act? Use this handy checklist to see if any of the following apply: 

•  My institution is a nonprofit accredited educational institution or a government agency
•  It has a policy on the use of copyrighted materials
•  It provides accurate information to faculty, students and staff about copyright
•  Its systems will not interfere with technological controls within the materials I want to use
•  The materials I want to use are specifically for students in my class
•  Only those students will have access to the materials
•  The materials will be provided at my direction during the relevant lesson
•  The materials are directly related and of material assistance to my teaching content
•  My class is part of the regular offerings of my institution
•  I will include a notice that the materials are protected by copyright
•  I will use technology that reasonably limits the students' ability to retain or further distribute the materials
•  I will make the materials available to the students only for a period of time that is relevant to the context of the class session
•  I will store the materials on a secure server and transmit them only as permitted by this law
•  I will not make copies other than the one I need to make the transmission
•  The materials are of the proper type and amount the law authorizes
  • Entire performances of nondramatic literary and musical works
  • Reasonable and limited parts of a dramatic literary, musical, or audiovisual work
  • Displays of other works, such as images, in amounts similar to typical displays in face-to-face teaching
•  The materials are not among those the law specifically excludes from its coverage:
  • Materials specifically marketed for classroom use for digital distance education
  • Copies I know or should know are illegal
  • Textbooks, coursepacks, electronic reserves and similar materials typically purchased individually by the students for independent review outside the classroom or class session
•  If I am using an analog original, I checked before digitizing it to be sure:
  • I copied only the amount that I am authorized to transmit
  • There is no digital copy of the work available except with technological protections that prevent my using it for the class in the way the statute authorizes

Copyright Crash Course

Originally created by Georgia Harper and now maintained by UT Libraries, the Copyright Crash Course is a valuable resource that offers users to explore various areas of copyright law. 

University of Texas 

• Copyright Crash Course - The TEACH Act

University of North Carolina

• http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/TEACH.htm