CONGRESS EXTENDS 'FAIR USE' CLAUSE TO DIGITAL EDUCATION
(Source: eSchool News, October 11, 2002)

Educators are applauding the passage of a bill that will allow teachers
to use digitized portions of copyrighted materials -- such as film,
sound, and other media clips -- in online courses and other
distance-education programs without the expressed permission of the
copyright holder. But a provision that requires schools to use
technology to keep these materials from being copied has some school
leaders worried. The Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization
(TEACH) Act, which brings a 26-year-old copyright law into the digital
age, was first introduced in March 2001. The legislation updates the
Copyright Act of 1976 and accounts for advancements in digital
transmission technologies that support distance education. The new
measure:

- Eliminates the current requirement that the instruction must occur in
a physical classroom or that special circumstances must prevent the
attendance of students in the classroom;

- Permits temporary copies of copyrighted materials to be stored on
networked file servers so this material can be transmitted over the
internet; and

- Allows educators to show limited portions of dramatic literary and
musical works, audiovisual works, and sound recordings, in addition to
complete versions of non-dramatic literary and musical works, which
currently are exempted.

Miriam Nesbitt, legislative counsel for the American Library Association
(ALA), said she was pleased to see the act finally pass through
Congress. But she cautioned that it contains several restrictions that
educators should be aware of. While the TEACH Act improves upon the old
law, it requires school districts to create or update copyright policies
and implement technology that prevents students from copying and
distributing material. The act allows copyrighted material to be used
for distance education in the same way as in a traditional classroom.
For example, in a classroom setting, students must return textbooks or
novels loaned to them for the semester. Also, neither teachers nor
students are permitted to photocopy and pass around entire books. In an
online course, students cannot access copyrighted materials for longer
than the class session, and they must not be able to copy, save, or
further distribute the materials. Schools also must use a technology
protection me! as! ! ure that "reasonably" prevents students from doing
this. In addition, only the teacher can display copyrighted materials,
and only enrolled students can access them during class time. Schools
with distance-education programs must inform students about copyright
laws and tell them that materials used in connection with the course
might be subject to copyright protection. ALA officials have created a
TEACH web site (www.ala.org/washoff/teach.html) to help educators
understand the complexities of the act.