TEACH Act                                                          
The "Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act" (TEACH Act) redefines the terms and conditions on which accredited, nonprofit educational institutions throughout the U.S. may "fairly use" copyright protected materials in distance education.  

In general, TEACH is more restrictive than the law allowing face-to-face instructional use of copyrighted materials. If you are interested in using copyrighted materials, here are some of the highlights of the Act, and North Carolina State offers an excellent checklist to help in your planning.

1. Avoid use of commercial works that are sold or licensed for purposes of digital distance education.

2. Avoid use of pirated works or works where you suspect the copy was not lawfully made.

3. Generally limit use of works to an amount and duration comparable to what would be displayed or performed in a live physical classroom setting. 

4. Supervise the digital performance or display and make it an integral part of a class session. The copyrighted work should be part of a class assignment in the distance education course. It should not be an entertainment add-on or passive background/optional reading.

5. Use software tools--like Blackboard--provided by the college to limit access to the works to students enrolled in the course, to prevent downstream copying by those students, and to prevent the students from retaining the works for longer than a “class session.”

6. Notify the students that the works may be subject to copyright protection and that they may not violate the legal rights of the copyright holder. Example:
   
   "The materials on this course Web site are only for the use of students enrolled in this course. Materials may not be retained, forwarded or disseminated."