Copyright, Fair Use, and TEACH

Daniel Webster College affirms strict adherence to U.S. Copyright Law by students, faculty and staff. All members of the DWC community must abide by all applicable copyright laws and licenses. Copyright compliance extends to written, spoken, viewed and downloaded works that carry copyright protection. (Copyright FAQ)

The Doctrine of Fair Use, which was included in the Copyright Act of 1976, states that reproduction… for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. The Four Factors provide a yardstick by which to measure the fair use of copyrighted material:

• The purpose and character of the use

• The nature of the copyrighted work

• The amount and substantiality of the portion used

• The effect of use on the potential market for the copyrighted work

It is not fair use to use the entirety of a work. Daniel Webster College affirms the use of materials under Fair Use as stipulated in U.S. Copyright Law. Repeated use of supplemental course materials from semester to semester may require permission of the copyright holder. The copyright permission must be displayed on each document, web site, or image.

On November 2, 2002, the President signed into law the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act.) This amendment allows the transmission of copyrighted materials in digitized format for distance learning without prior permission from the copyright owner. However, take note, this exemption includes specific requirements that must be met prior to use of the copyrighted material. The TEACH Act Toolkit is an online resource for understanding copyright and distance education, and provides useful checklists for ensuring copyright compliance. Daniel Webster College formally approved a Policy on Copyright, Fair Use and the TEACH ACT in December, 2005.

To learn more, there are numerous online resources and tutorials available. Some of the better ones are shown below.
    >Crash Course in Copyright, University of Texas
    >Primer, University of Maryland University College (requires Flash Player plugin)
     >Interactive Guide to Using Copyrighted Media in Your Course (Baruch       College)

This information was not created by an attorney and may not be taken as a legal interpretation of the law. It was created as a useful, informational guide for faculty wrestling with the issues of copyright and fair use.

Updated 02/08/2007