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Copyright in the Classroom: TEACH Act

This guide offers a broad overview of copyright and other related concepts, as well as helpful links and resources.

Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act

Enacted in 2002, Section 110(2) of the Copyright Act, a provision sometimes called the TEACH Act, gives accredited, nonprofit U.S. educational institutions the right, under certain circumstances, to use copyrighted materials for organized instructional activities that are not in face-to-face traditional classroom settings. Section 110 allowed instructors to show videos to groups of students as long as that viewing takes place "face-to-face" in a classroom, but the TEACH Act expanded that to include certain situations in online distance education as well, as long as some conditions are met. 

Under the right circumstances, the TEACH Act allows the following (subject to the conditions detailed below):

  • “performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work,”
  • “performance of . . . reasonable and limited portions of any other work,” or
  • “display of a work in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session.”

To qualify, uses must meet the following additional conditions:

  • “the performance or display is made by, 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 educational institution,”
  • “the performance or display is directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission,”
  • “the transmission is made solely for, and, to the extent technologically feasible, the reception of such transmission is limited to students officially enrolled in the course for which the transmission is made,”
  • the transmitting institution institutes certain policies related to copyright (which Penn State has done), and
  • in the case of digital transmissions, the transmitting institution applies certain technological protection measures.

The TEACH Act does not apply to either of the following:

  • any “work produced or marketed primarily for performance or display as part of mediated instructional activities transmitted via digital networks” or
  • uses of any “copy or phonorecord that is not lawfully made and acquired under this title” (if the institution knows or should know it was not lawfully made or acquired).

via The Pennsylvania State University

Instructor Responsibilities

Instructors have a series of obligations to ensure a work is effectively covered by the TEACH Act when used in a virtual classroom setting: 

  • The performance or display is made by or under the supervision of an instructor.
  • The performance or display is directly related and integral to the class content, not ancillary like Reserves
  • The work is part of systematic mediated instructional activities
  • The "transmission is made solely for and limited to students officially enrolled in the course."
  • Materials that are used for performance or display must be lawfully made and acquired.
  • Instructor must use reasonable controls to prevent copying and retention of the work, those that would "discourage most users." (streaming is suggested for video; thumbnails, watermarks and disabling right click copy function can be used to protect images.)
  • A digital copy may be made from an analog copy when no digital version is available or when the digital version is technologically protected.
  • Work must carry a warning notice to students. 

via University of Missouri-Kansas City Library

Helpful Links

Find It @ the Jefferson College Library

TEACH vs Fair Use

The TEACH Act gives more latitude to what instructors can use, but it also requires more work to obtain permission. 

Fair use doesn't require as much work to obtain permission, but leaves instructors more vulnerable to lawsuits (See Cambridge University Press v. Becker).

If fair use permits a particular use of material, it is not necessary to consider the TEACH Act. Similarly, if the TEACH Act permits a particular use of material, it is not necessary to consider fair use.

Other Considerations

  • Copyright law generally treats digital and non-digital content similarly
  • Materials that require permissions for use in face-to-face classes still require permission in an course management system
  • The TEACT Act does not supersede fair use or existing digital license agreements, but it does allow for a greater variety and degree of reproduction
  • Specifically forbidden is the transmission of textbook materials that are “typically purchased or acquired by a student”
  • As with classroom use, portions must be “reasonable and limited” and such as might be performed or displayed during a typical class