Staff / Faculty

Conference Facilities

Location | Contact

Business & Industry

Online Courses

Degree Programs

Distance Learning

Certifications

Professional Develop.

Personal Enrichment

Safety & Environment

CEUs | Camps

ESL Center

Lang. & Culture Prog.

Credit Lang. Courses

Cultural Workshops

Online College

Dual Enrollment

USDA

High School

Courses & Programs

Services Available

Policies & Procedures
Distance Learning

Independent Study

Continuing Education

Technology

U.C.C.C.

A.O.C.E.

Copyright

Coordinators

Distance Learning Copyright Policy Considerations

On November 2, 2002, Congress signed into law the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act). This amendment of the copyright code extends to distance educators many, but not all, of the rights that educators enjoy in regard to displaying or performing copyrighted works in the face-to-face classroom. The law imposes a number of limits and conditions regarding the use of copyrighted material in distance education, both on the individual instructor and on the institution.
These guidelines are for the individual faculty member to use in considering whether the work he or she wants to use in an online class meets the requirements of the TEACH Act. Important considerations include:

1. The class is a part of the regular offerings of Mississippi State University.
2. Instructors must use technology that is secure and reasonably limits the students' ability to retain or further distribute the materials.
3. Instructors must not make any copies other than the ONE needed to make the transmission.
4. Instructors will make materials available to the students only for a period of time that is comparable to what would be displayed or performed in a live physical classroom session.
5. Only use lawfully made and acquired copies; in other words, avoid pirated works, including any work copied from a television broadcast.
6. The digital transmission of complete works such as textbooks, course packs and the like is prohibited.
7. The materials to be used or displayed are directly related and of material assistance to the instructor’s teaching content. The instructor should supervise the transmission of the work, and it should clearly be perceived as a required class assignment, not as an optional reading or activity.
8. The materials to be used or displayed are only for those enrolled in the instructor’s class.
9. Students will not be able to copy the work or to retain it past the class session.
10. Instructors must include a notice that the materials are protected by copyright. In addition, the university's general policy concerning copyright should be displayed in connection with each course.
• The materials are not: Specifically marketed for classroom use for digital distance education
• Copies the instructor knows or should know are illegal
• Textbooks, coursepacks, electronic reserves and similar materials typically purchased individually by the students for independent review outside the classroom or class session.
11. The materials are of the proper type and amount the law authorizes:
    
    • Entire performances of nondramatic literary and musical works. Non-dramatic literary works might include poetry or short story reading and all music except operas and music videos.
    • Reasonable and limited parts 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
12. If the instructor is using an original that is NOT in electronic form, they should check before digitizing it to be sure:
    • They copy only the amount that they are authorized to transmit
    • There is no digital copy of the work available except with technological protections that prevent using it for the class