Open Access (OA) & Scholarly Publishing

On November 2, 2002, the "Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act" (the TEACH Act), was signed into law. This legislation attempts to address the special needs of online distance education in regard to copyright requirements. At the same time, the TEACH Act is not a carte blanche for allowing any amount of content to be made accessible to distance education students. 

In order for the use of copyrighted materials in distance education to qualify for the TEACH exemptions, the following criteria must be met:

• The institution must be an accredited, non-profit educational institution.
• The use must be part of mediated instructional activities.
• The use must be limited to a specific number of students enrolled in a specific class.
• The use must either be for 'live' or asynchronous class sessions.
• The use must not include the transmission of textbook materials, materials "typically purchased or acquired by students," or works developed specifically for online uses.
• Only "reasonable and limited portions," such as might be performed or displayed during a typical live classroom session, may be used.
• The institution must have developed and publicized its copyright policies, specifically informing students that course content may be covered by copyright, and include a notice of copyright on the online materials.
• The institution must implement some technological measures to ensure compliance with these policies, beyond merely assigning a password. Ensuring compliance through technological means may include user and location authentication through Internet Protocol (IP) checking, content timeouts, print-disabling, cut & paste disabling, etc.    

(From Copyright Clearance Center, Copyright Basics: The TEACH Act)

US copyright law gives teachers the right to use works for distance learning without permission under certain circumstances.

If you are:

• acting under direction or actual supervision of, an instructor in a class session offered by an accredited nonprofit educational institution or governmental body;

• using the material as an integral part of a class session;

• using the material that is directly related to and of material assistance to your teaching content; and

• using a copy of the work that was prepared lawfully,

and the copyrighted work :

• was not “produced or marketed primarily for performance or display as part of mediated instructional activities transmitted via digital networks;” and

• will be transmitted solely to students officially enrolled in the course for which the transmission is made or officers or employees of governmental bodies as a part of their official duties or employment,

and your use is:

• performing a nondramatic literary work (e.g., reading a short story aloud);

• performing a nondramatic musical work (e.g., singing a song);

• performing a reasonable and limited amount of any other work (e.g., playing an excerpt from a movie); or

• displaying any work in an amount comparable to what would be used in a live classroom, and your institution

• institutes a copyright policy;

• provides information about copyright to faculty, students, and relevant staff members;

• provides notice to students that materials used in connection with the course may be subject to copyright protection; and

• if the transmission is digital, apply the required technological measures,

then US copyright law permits your use.This provision, which is sometimes called the TEACH Act, is codified at https://uscode.lawi.us/17-usc-110/

Content

• When and where possible, link to licensed material available.

• If the material is publicly available, supply the link to the website where the material is displayed. 

• Limit the material to single articles or chapters, parts of performances, a number of charts, graphs, or images, and small excerpts from a musical score. 

Notice

• Include any copyright notice present on the original copy. For example, "The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) governs the use of copyrighted material. Copying, displaying, and distributing copyrighted works may infringe the owner's copyright if it exceeds fair use as provided by section 107 or any other provision of the copyright law. Any use of a computer or duplicating facilities by students, faculty or staff for infringing use of copyrighted works is subject to appropriate disciplinary action as well as those civil remedies and criminal penalties provided by federal law." 

• Include citations and attributions to sources cited.

Access and Security

• Limit access to students enrolled in the class and to administrative staff. 

• Terminate access to the material at the end of the class term.

Link to licensed resources available from the Library, this way, you avoid violating the Library licensing agreements, copyright laws, and common accessibility issues. Since access to these resources is paid for or subscribed to, not only does it save time, but no further permission is needed to use them. You can add links to eBooks from the library collection. Keep in mind that some eBooks limit the number of students that can access the book simultaneously. Although individual licensing agreements may vary, providing links to these resources in a course is usually acceptable. To be sure that the link works appropriately for students when they are off campus, you must add the link to the Library's proxy server at the beginning of the hyperlink.  

Making copies of new materials for students (downloading and uploading files or scanning from physical documents) can present copyright issues. Still, they're not different from those involved in deciding whether to share something online with your students when you are meeting in person.

• Do not make copies of entire works.
• Copying portions of works to share with students will often be fair use, and at times (especially in unusual circumstances or with pieces that aren't commercially available), making lengthier copies may even be appropriate.
• It is an instructor's right and responsibility to decide when they think they can make copies for students.

Copyright Clearance Center

When using text-based material such as journal articles or books for teaching or research a convenient method for seeking permissions is through the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). The CCC provides an item-by-item licensing option that gives an individual permission to use specific items for specific purposes. What is permitted will depend on the license. CCC also provides institutional licenses to universities which cover many of the activities common in an academic community such as copying and distributing articles to work colleagues or students.