The “Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act,” commonly abbreviated as the “TEACH Act,” is a piece of legislation that modified U.S. copyright law to allow for the performance and display of copyrighted materials for the purpose of distance education, as long as the instructor, technology, and institution satisfy certain requirements. 

The following actions are allowed in distance education settings under the TEACH Act: 

• Display (showing of a copy) of any work in an amount analogous to what is provided in a physical classroom setting
• Performance of nondramatic literary works
• Performance of nondramatic musical works
• Performance of "reasonable and limited" portions of other types of work (other than nondramatic literary or musical work), EXCEPT digital educational works
• Distance-education students may receive transmissions at any location
• Retention of content and distant student access for the length of a “class session”
• Copying and storage for a limited time or necessary for digital transmission to students
• Digitization of portions of analog works if no digital version is available or if digital version is not in an accessible form

The following are NOT allowed in distance education:

• Works that are marketed as part of online instructional activities (commercially available digital educational materials)
• Unlawful copies of copyrighted works under the U.S. copyright law, if the institution “knew or had reason to believe” that they were not lawfully made and acquired

Requirements for Instructors

• Digital materials must be directly related to the content of the course and must be part of "mediated instructional activities," meaning that they must be the same type of material that would be used in a classroom
• Commercial works marketed for the educational market, such as electronic texts or workbooks, cannot be used, and paper versions of these works cannot be digitized either
• All materials used in the course must be legally obtained

The TEACH Act's Institutional Requirements

In order to retain protections provided for by the TEACH Act, institutions must 

• Promulgate copyright policies
• Provide accurate information about copyright
• Promote copyright compliance
• Provide notice to students that course materials may be copyrighted
• To the extent it is technologically feasible, limit online transmission of materials to students enrolled in a particular course

Portions of the text above were adapted from the UC Copyright website, which is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

The checklist below can be used to ensure that your use of materials for remote learning is in compliance with the requirements of the TEACH Act:

 My institution is a nonprofit accredited educational institution or a governmental agency

 My institution has a policy on the use of copyrighted materials

 My institution provides accurate information to faculty, students and staff about copyright

 My institution and its systems will not interfere with technological controls within the materials I want to use

 The materials I want to use are specifically for students in my class

 Only those students will have access to the materials

 The materials will be provided at my direction during a relevant lesson

 The materials are directly related and of material assistance to my teaching content

 My class is part of the regular offerings of my institution

 I will include a notice that the materials are protected by copyright

 I will use technology that reasonably limits the students' ability to retain or further distribute the materials

 I will make the materials available to the students only for a limited period of time that is relevant to the context of a class session

 I will store the materials on a secure server and transmit them only as permitted by law

 I will not make any copies other than the one I need to make the transmission

 The materials are of the proper type and amount the law authorizes:

• Entire performances of nondramatic literary and musical works
• 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

 The materials are not among those the law specifically excludes from its coverage:

• Materials specifically marketed for classroom use for digital distance education
• Copies I know or should know are illegal
• Textbooks, course packs, electronic reserves and similar materials typically purchased individually by the
• students for independent review outside the classroom or class session

 If I am using an analog original, I checked before digitizing it to be sure:

• I copied only the amount that I am authorized to transmit
• There is no digital copy of the work available except with technological protections that prevent my using it for the
• class in the way the statute authorizes

 I have obtained the materials through legal means

This checklist is an adaptation of the TEACH Act Checklist from Copyright Crash Course by Georgia Harper and Colleen Lyon, which is licensed under CC BY 4.0.