Tuesday, October 8, 2002

Congress Eases Copyright Restrictions on Distance Education By DAN CARNEVALE Washington President Bush is expected to sign a bill, passed last week, that would open the door for professors to use some copyrighted works in online courses without having to seek permission. On Thursday, the Senate approved HR 2215, a bill authorizing spending for the Department of Justice. The bill includes a provision that would ease copyright law for online education. The House of Representatives passed the same bill the previous week. The legislation would amend the Copyright Act of 1976 so that online-education instructors could use excerpts from recordings of dramatic literary and musical works -- such as plays, musicals, and operas -- on course Web sites without seeking permission from the copyright owners. Under current law, only nondramatic literary and musical works can be used in online courses without permission. Most copyrighted works can be used in their entirety in a traditional classroom setting without permission. The language was originally part of S 487, a bill called the Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization Act, or TEACH Act. Kim Kelley, associate provost for University of Maryland University College, said the change in the law will allow professors to create multimedia lessons for students using clips from various copyrighted works. Under current law, professors are unsure whether they can use the same copyrighted works online that they can use in their traditional courses, Ms. Kelley said. And professors who ask permission often have to wait months for an answer, only to find out that using the material would cost them thousands of dollars. The bill would somewhat level the playing field for online and traditional classrooms, Ms. Kelley said. "That's a major breakthrough," she said. "Until now, it's been a gray area, and nobody's been sure." Background articles from The Chronicle: House Votes to Ease Copyright Rules (10/11/2002) House Panel Votes to Ease Copyright Restrictions (8/9/2002) Copyright Bill's Fate Worries Distance Educators (11/30/2001) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

More than 300 college presidents sign statement condemning anti-Semitism Students on more than 30 campuses protest against threatened war with Iraq 3 physicists share Nobel Prize for work on cosmic neutrinos and X-rays Feud erupts between 2 Catholic higher-education groups over approaches to student life U.S. House panel proposes a record $5.4-billion budget for NSF TIAA-CREF chooses former Merrill Lynch executive as its new leader Physicist who runs university in India is accused of plagiarizing Stanford professor Congress eases copyright restrictions on distance education Agreement on Webcast fees won't help college radio stations