The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted in 1998. It was an effort to update copyright law to take into account digitally produced and reproduced materials. The act affects Universities in their role as Internet Service Providers and Information Technology Providers. It requires that Universities take reasonable efforts to insure that the copyright protections applying to digital material are in place on their campuses. UWRF has undertaken the necessary steps to be in compliance with this law. Further information on the educational impact of DMCA provided by EDUCAUSE is a good source for more informaiton.
The U.S. Copyright Office provides a summary of the DMCA legislation.
A revision of copyright law affecting universities is The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act, (TEACH Act) which became law in November 2002. The TEACH Act modifies existing copyright law to allow educators to use some copyright protected materials in distance education without gaining prior permission and/or paying royalties without violating copyright law. The general intention of the act was to make the same "fair use" criteria that apply to face-to-face educational contexts also apply to distance education.
The TEACH Act applies only to accredited educational institutions that have stated copyright policies which are made available to faculty, staff and students. In order to comply with the TEACH Act, copyrighted material made available via distance education must, among other things, meet the following criteria:
All UWRF faculty and staff engaged in distance education should become familiar with the provisions of this law.
American Library Association:
Distance Education and the TEACH Act
Columbia University Libraries/Information Services Copyright Advisory Office:
Distance Education: The Teach Act, Fair Use and Copyright
Read the TEACH Act