Web-based instruction gives rise to complex copyright issues concerning both the question of ownership of the newly created work as well as the question of "fair use" of existing materials.  Academicians of the digital era must attempt to traverse the gauntlet of copyright law while maintaining academic and intellectual standards in their instructional activities. 

The purpose of this webcast audio seminar is to review the topics of copyright and fair use as they apply to academic instruction at nonprofit educational institutions.  Rules for distance education will be compared to those for face-to-face teaching.  The meaning of fair use becomes much more rigorous when the digitized materials are uploaded to websites and made globally accessible, whereby the content may be downloaded, altered, and further transmitted by others anywhere in the world.  Current legislation, i.e. the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act, are specifically designed to address issues related to digital media and distance education, although these are evolving as the means and methods for delivering and utilizing digital materials changes.  However, a basic understanding of current copyright laws and how they apply to distance education should hold seminar participants in good stead as they create and/or utilize Web-based instructional materials.

In this one-hour IAMSE Webcast Audio seminar, Dr. Anderson will discuss these various issues of copyright and fair use, provide an understanding of how rules for distance education differ from in-class instruction, and demonstrate why Web-based materials require more rigorous interpretation of the fair use rules.