Fair Use Evaluator and the TEACH Act
Instructors teaching online may have concerns about the availability and legality of streaming material they would like to use in class. When the library owns a resource in streamable format you can use it in your virtual classroom just as you could in your physical one. This applies to most if not all of the resources linked in this guide.
However, when you want to teach recorded work that is either in a non-streamable format or is not licensed by OU, you may run into copyright issues. The TEACH Act of 2002 expanded the U.S. Copyright Code to cover online instruction, but the rules of fair use still apply.
Please note that due to copyright concerns, OU does not offer a service to digitize DVD content for streaming.
The resources below will help you to determine whether your use of recorded material is covered under "fair use."
- Statement on Fair Use and Emergency Remote TeachingA document offering clarity on teaching and researching remotely in the era of COVID-19.
- Fair Use EvaluatorA tool for helping to determine whether use of a specific resource falls under "fair use." From the American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy.
- TEACH Act information from U. of TexasThorough explanation of the TEACH Act.
- TEACH Act ChecklistA handy checklist to determine readiness to use the TEACH Act, from the University of Texas.