• the purpose of the use of the copyrighted work,
• the nature of the copyrighted work,
• the amount of the copyrighted work to be used, and
• the effect of reproduction on the sale of the copyrighted work.

Use this fair use check-list developed by Columbia University Libraries when determining if your planned use of copyrighted material is permitted under fair use. Or check out the Section 108 Spinner.

The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) was signed into law in 2002 and served to expand and clarify copyright law (specifically sections 110(2) and 112(f)) to recognize the current methods used in distance instruction, but it is not meant to over-ride a fair use claim or argument for the fair use of copyrighted material.

Distance instruction (largely online teaching) now represents a range of practices, from teaching a course completely online to posting an individual assignment on the web as part of a course otherwise entirely delivered in a face-to-face setting.

Brooklyn College, as an accredited, nonprofit educational institution, makes information about copyright available to all in its community and is covered by the provisions of the TEACH Act.  As faculty at Brooklyn College you may use copyrighted material specifically related to the content of a course and are required to alert students that materials used in connection with your course may be subject to copyright protection.  Additionally, you may only make these materials available to students registered in the course.

The Specifics

You Can!  

The copyright law, as reshaped by the TEACH Act, now explicitly permits the transmission of:

• Complete performances of non-dramatic literary or musical works;
• Commercially produced educational media for which you or the college has a license;
• Reasonable and limited portions of a dramatic literary, musical, or audiovisual works;
• Displays of other works, such as images, in amounts similar to typical displays in face-to-face teaching; and
• Copies of analog content that you have digitized because digital copies currently available prevent you from excerpting portions as allowed by the law.

Be Careful Not To . . .

• Continue to provide access to content for “longer than the class session.”  Interpretations of the meaning of "class sessions" have varied.
• Use copies of performances or displays that you are aware were obtained outside the law; or
• Use textbooks, coursepacks and similar materials typically purchased individually by the students for the course.

Tools

• The TEACH Act Checklist from Georgia K. Harper at the University of Texas 
  Reviews the dos and don’ts in an easy to follow checklist.
• Copyright Law and Distance Education: Overview of the TEACH Act
  An in-depth look at what the TEACH Act means from Kenneth D. Crews, Director, Copyright Advisory Office, Columbia University.

• reproduce more than 10% of a book;
• create an electronic course pack that is an exact replication of a published anthology;
• reproduce workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets and other published consumable material;
• systematic downloading from licenced databases, such as with bots or intelligent agents, is not permitted.

You may always...

• hyperlink from your Blackboard site to copyrighted material available on the Internet on your Blackboard site;
• use material in the public domain, i.e. material for which copyright has expired or has been waived. To determine if your submission is within the public domain, we suggest you use the Copyright Slider found at http://www.librarycopyright.net/digitalslider/ before submitting your materials and this form.