TEACH Act

Section 110(2) of the U.S. Copyright Act, known as the "Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act" of 2002 or TEACH Act, was enacted specifically to address the use of copyrighted materials in distance education. It states that teachers and students at "an accredited nonprofit educational institution" can legally reproduce

the performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or 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, by or in the course of a transmission, if—

• The copyrighted material used is directly related to, and of material assistance to, the teaching content.
• Only students enrolled in the relevant course have access to the copyrighted material, and they only have access to it for the duration of the course.
• Only legally obtained copies are used.
• The educational institution provides notice to the students that materials they have access to are protected by copyright.
• The educational institution has a policy on the use of copyrighted material and provides information resources for faculty advising them on copyright.

The TEACH Act does not apply to materials that are for students' independent use and retention. Materials that are specifically marketed for classroom use in distance education are also not covered by the TEACH Act.