The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001, also known as the TEACH Act, would apparently cause profound changes in the law that now prohibits colleges and universities from performing audio-visual works, including videos, over the internet and other telecommunications systems without permission from the copyright holder.
The TEACH Act would, if passed and signed into law, allow not-for-profit institutions of higher learning to transmit "limited and reasonable" portions of videos and other AV works under the supervision of a college instructor over a secure system accessible by enrolled students only.
Currently, the law is headed for the House of Representatives upon being passed by the Senate as Senate Bill 487 (S.487) by unanimous consent on June 7, 2001.
The key provisions of the bill are that:
The bill is praised highly by both the American Association of University Professors, and by the Association of American Universities. AAUP President Mary Burgan, in a testimonial letter sent to the U.S. Senate on March 15, 2001, said the bill promotes distance education via digital technologies "while maintaining an appropriate balance between the rights of copyright owners and the needs of users." Nils Hasselmo, who heads the AAU, said in a May 17, 2001, letter to the senate that the bill includes important safeguards governing the use of copyrighted material designed to assure that such material is used for authorized educational purposes only."
The bill is also supported by the American Library Association as "comprehensive and well-balanced," in keeping with the recommendations of the Copyright Office, whose study of digital technologies and copyright followed passage of the Digital Millennium Act a couple of years ago.
Although the bill has widespread support, there are dissenting opinions raised by publishers of multimedia works among others. Mark Schneiderman, who directs the policy arm of the Software Information and Industry Association, says the broad discretion allowed to instructors for the performance of a video work "would weaken the market for certain types of content and thus significantly harm many content owners."
The biparisan measure will be heard in the near future in the U.S. House of Representatives.
REFERENCES:
Baker and McKenzie (2001). Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001, S.487. [online] Enacted Legislation and Regulations Overview. Global E-Commerce Law website. Available: http://www.bmck.com/ecommerce/congress.htm#s487. [6/28/01]
Bill Summary and Status for the 107th Congress (6/7/01). Summary of S.487 as of June 7, 2001. [online]. Thomas Search Engine. Available: http://thomas.loc.gov/. [6/28/01]
Burgan, Mary (March 15, 2001). March 15, 2001 Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee supporting S.487, the TEACH Act [online]. American Association of University Professors website. Available: http://www.aaup.org/ltrs487.htm. [6/28/01]
Good News for Distance Education (2001). American Library Association [online]. Available: http://www.ala.org/washoff/disted.html [6/28/01]
Hasselmo, Nils, (May 17, 2001). Community Letter on S.487, the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001. [online]. Association of American Universities website. Available: http://www.aau.edu/S487Ltr5.17.01.html. [6/28/01]
Schneiderman, Mark (May 7, 2001). Digital Distance Education Copyright Reform Introduced. Edge Media website. [online]. Available: http://www.edgesc.com/issues/posts/041901b.html
Software Information Industry Association. Represents the multimedia and software publishing industry. [6/28/01]
Gummess, Glen (June 28, 2001). The TEACH Act, an Information Primer. [online]. The Center for Instructional Delivery, the University of St. Francis. Joliet, IL.