The TEACH Act – Instructional Scenarios

I found an article in JSTOR that I would like my students to read.  Will the TEACH Act allow me to post it to my online course?

Yes. Because:

• Stanislaus State Library subscribes to JSTOR, so the TEACH Act is actually irrelevant.
• JSTOR’s terms of service allow for the distribution of the file in addition to providing stable links to authorized users.

The readings for my course on politics and culture in Central America come from book chapters and articles that are not in our library databases.  Will the TEACH Act allow me to scan and post those materials as a kind of “electronic reserves” or electronic coursepack?

No. Because:

• The TEACH Act makes no mention of “reserves”; it is for using materials in directed and mediated instruction.
• Articles fall under the “display” exemption and only amounts comparable to a face-to-face session may be displayed.
• "Displaying" a downloadable PDF article on a course website throughout the semester is not supported by the TEACH Act.
• Compiling these readings would constitute a substitute for students having to purchase a regular course reader (whether in paper or electronic format).  This is not an exempted use under the TEACH Act.

I have one article that I require students to read at the start of a particular assignment.  It’s not available in a library database. Does the TEACH Act allow me to post a PDF of that article on Blackboard alongside the other materials related to that assignment?

No. Because:

• Articles fall under the “display” exemption of the TEACH Act and so only amounts comparable to a face-to-face session may be displayed.

My students are collaborating on a course project to study gender representations of celebrities.  I would like to include and discuss images downloaded from TMZ.com in my introduction to the project.  Will the TEACH Act allow me to use them that way?

Yes.

• The TEACH Act allows for the display of content, such as images, in amounts similar to what would be displayed in a face-to-face session. It's quite reasonable to display multiple complete images in a face-to-face session (perhaps as part of a PowerPoint), so it is quite reasonable to display similar amounts and kinds of content for directed instruction online.
• The TEACH Act will also allow students to post TMZ images that are directly part of the course project.

In my lecture on population changes in various ecologies, I like to illustrate a particular point using a chart published in a textbook.  Does the TEACH Act allow me to show that chart in my online class?

Yes.

• The TEACH Act allows for the display of content, such as images and charts, in amounts similar to what would be displayed in a face-to-face session.

I usually show a documentary in my face-to-face class to enhance the unit on the solar system. Does the TEACH Act allow me to make the whole documentary available on my Blackboard site?

No. Because:

• The TEACH Act only allows “reasonable and limited” amounts of “other works” such as audiovisual works.
• The TEACH Act has no provision exempting uses of “fiction” vs. “fact-based” materials.

Notes

• Fair Use is the only option for justifying showing a complete documentary video or other dramatic audiovisual work for the first time by each instructor.
• Repeated showings of the work (e.g., in subsequent terms) cannot be justified by Fair Use and a license should be acquired.

I usually show a documentary in my face-to-face class to enhance the unit on the solar system. Does the TEACH Act allow me to make clips of the DVD available on my Blackboard site?

Yes. If:

• The DVD is lawfully acquired.
• The clips will not be downloadable.
• Access is limited to enrolled students.
• The other requirements of the TEACH Act are met.

Several years ago I taped a documentary on Russian history.  My tape is getting worn out and I want to make some clips available in my online course.  Does the TEACH Act allow me to digitize the VHS tape?

Yes. If:

• No DVD version of the documentary is available for purchase.
• The other requirements of the TEACH Act are met.

I teach a French film course.  For the lecture and discussion of director Alain Resnais, does the TEACH Act allow me to digitize and post clips on my Blackboard site of his Night and Fog that I rented from Netflix?

Yes. Because:

• The DVD was (presumably) lawfully acquired by Netflix.
• The fact of its rental status is made moot by the use of limited portions as part of directly mediated instructional activities and akin to what is permissible in a face-to-face session (it is perfectly permissible to show a rented film in class if the requirements of §110(1) are followed).
• The new §112(f) introduced by the TEACH Act also allows the clips to be stored on a secured server and reused in subsequent classes.

My students would like to embed (not just link to) relevant YouTube videos in their discussion board posts analyzing various commercial music videos.  Does the TEACH Act allow this?

Yes. Because:

• YouTube allows embedding of any video that allows itself to be embedded.
• Embedding content is technically the same as linking it to it, which is allowed by the DMCA.
• The question of the lawfulness of the video content as it exists on YouTube’s service cannot be reasonably determined by an instructor or student.

Ashland’s production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is really great.  Does the TEACH Act allow me to post the complete DVD of their performance as part of an assignment?

No. Because:

• The video is a dramatic work so only “reasonable and limited” portions may be presented in order to qualify as an exemption under the TEACH Act.
• Although Twelfth Night itself may be in the public domain, Ashland’s production of the play is *very much* still under copyright.