Congress Passes TEACH Act

There's some good news for distance educators. Congress passed the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act October 3, making it easier to use copyrighted works in distance education. The bill, which was being considered by the House Judiciary Committee for several months before its adoption by both houses of Congress, will take immediate effect after President Bush signs it into law.

The TEACH Act is a revision of Section 110(2) of the U.S. Copyright Act. One of its main objectives is to strike a balance between protecting copyrighted works, while permitting educators to use those materials in distance education. It will allow teachers, librarians, and other educators to use copyrighted works in the "digital classroom" without prior permission from the copyright holder.

"The new law permits the display and performance of nearly all types of works," says a statement from the American Library Association (ALA). "If educators remain within the boundaries of the law, they may use certain copyrighted works without permission from, or payment of royalties to, the copyright owner and without copyright infringement." The bill, however, is complex and outlines numerous responsibilities that must be met before educational institutions and their libraries can benefit.

How do the new rules affect librarians? According to ALA, librarians may participate in the development and gathering of copyright policy, they may retain copies of distance-education transmissions, and they may negotiate the licenses for the acquisition of new materials.

"The bottom line here is that the TEACH Act leverages high-tech tools to make learning experiences available whenever and wherever students wish to learn," says Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), sponsor of the bill.

ALA's Washington office has created a TEACH Web site (www.ala.org/washoff/teach.html) to help members understand the new law's complexities.