This teleconference is a must-see for every institution involved in online teaching and learning!

The new TEACH (Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization) Act may be the most significant piece of copyright legislation for distance education in a quarter of a century!

The leading copyright experts in higher education will analyze and explain how this new law does—and does not—redefine what kinds of materials can now be used in online courses!

In 1998, the Dallas teleconference "Am I A Crook? Copyright Issues on the Internet"

575 colleges and universities licensed and viewed the live, satellite event! These same three elements are in place for "COPYRIGHT ISSUES ONLINE!"

Danger: The legal environment for digital copyright issues is more contentious than ever. New federal statutes and judicial opinions are shifting the balance of power to copyright holders—creators, publishers and the entertainment industry—at the expense of educators. Indeed, the concept of "fair use" for education is being narrowed by law and undermined by technology. Even so, institutions of higher education and their faculty, staff and students are legally liable for any violations of the copyright law as it is currently interpreted and applied.

Opportunity: There are guidelines and "rules of thumb" for when faculty should obtain permission to use materials they did not create. Knowing when permissions are not required can save a great deal of time and money. Faculty and staff will learn how to apply the "fair use" provision when using copyrighted materials in digital forms, when "fair use" does and does not apply, and how to get permission more easily for uses that are not covered.

Using scenarios based on real-world situations, key experts in copyright law for higher education—including Georgia Harper from The University of Texas—will analyze issues such as:

Note: This teleconference will not deal with copyright issues for libraries.

Panelists

Dr. Janis H. Bruwelheide is recognized nationally as an intellectual property consultant, speaker, and workshop leader. She has revised and expanded The Copyright Primer: A Handbook for the American Library Association and National Education Association and is presently working on a new copyright publishing project. Janis has written several papers and chapters on copyright and technology for books and periodicals. In addition, she often presents workshops and conference sessions on collaboration and partnerships as well online course design. Janis is project director and principal investigator for the Borderless Access to Training and Education Project (BATE) funded through 2004 by the FIPSE Learning Anywhere Anytime Partnership initiative. She is a professor at Montana State University-Bozeman.

Georgia K. Harper is the manager of the Intellectual Property Section of the Office of General Counsel for the University of Texas System, where she specializes in copyright law. Her online publication, The Copyright Crash Course, (http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm) provides guidance to University faculty, students and staff concerning a wide range of copyright issues and is freely accessible to all universities and colleges. Ms. Harper graduated with High Honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Education and with Honors from the University of Texas at Austin’s Law School with a JD degree. She conducts local, state, regional and national workshops and seminars on copyright issues and has been an advisor to the Association of American Universities, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and the American Council on Education, as well as the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage in connection with its Copyright and Fair Use Town Meetings. She was named a fellow of the National Association of College and University Attorneys in June 2001.

Steven J. McDonald is General Counsel at the Rhode Island School of Design and previously served as Associate Legal Counsel at The Ohio State University. He has handled a number of Internet-related legal matters, ranging from alleged infringements of copyrighted materials on student web pages to investigations of computer break-ins to an e-mail death threat to Socks the cat. He began his legal career in private practice at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, where he represented CompuServe in Cubby v. CompuServe, the first online libel case, and he also has taught courses in Internet law at Ohio State's College of Law and at Capital University Law School. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of College and University Attorneys and is the editor of NACUA's The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: A Legal Compendium. He received his BA from Duke University in 1982 and his JD from The Yale Law School in 1985.