Educational institutions should adopt a practical Best Practices solution for deciding what copyrighted content to include in online courses. Frequently, faculty and staff struggle in determining what protected content to include through abstract fair use standards or the notoriously difficult TEACH Act. These multilayered and uncertain processes urge institutions to adopt a more efficient and predictable approach through a Best Practices norm, as proposed and explained in this session.
The development and growth of distance education has significantly increased the educational institution’s risk of copyright infringement. Many institutions are unaware of the strict and severe liability implications under U.S. Copyright Law for infringing online courses developed by their faculty or staff. Under the law, all parties may be held economically liable even if they are incognizant of the infringing activity. To complicate matters further, faculty and staff struggle in deciding what content to include through abstract fair use standards or the notoriously convoluted TEACH Act. These multilayered and uncertain processes urge institutions to adopt a more efficient and predictable Best Practices approach, as proposed and explained in this session.
By adopting the proposed Best Practices guidance for online courses, faculty and staff: i.) raise their contextual knowledge of copyright law and are more likely to assert their rights to use protected content to enrich their online instruction; ii.) may lower the time and cost of course development by adjusting the broad fair use stadards to fit the specific needs of the online course community; and iii.) may be considered as meeting the legal standard of good faith, thus exempting them and the institution as innocent infringers from the imposition of liability for severe statutory damages.