Good news for teachers and students
According to an article* in the UCLA Newsroom,
UCLA is taking steps to restore the streaming of previously purchased instructional content behind password-protected course websites, a practice the campus believes is permitted under various provisions in the federal Copyright Act.
The article indicates that while UCLA had stopped streaming to show good faith during negotiations, they had determined that their uses were allowable under Fair Use, as well as the TEACH Act safe harbor, and so they intend to restart streaming sometime in the spring semester. They did modify protocols so that faculty now specify the intended education use for material, although they believed that their previous practice was within the law.
Although there was no ruling by a court, UCLA sharing their reasoning may help smaller institutions, who may not have ready access to intellectual property specialists, in determining which of their own practices may be allowable under current copyright law.
Thanks to Janet Croft for the tip!
* Hampton, Phil. “Campus to restart streaming of instructional video content.” UCLA Newsroom, March 3, 2010.
