Section 110(1) of the U.S. Copyright Law permits the display and performance of others’ works in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution. An instructor or pupil may show or perform works related to the course curriculum in a face-to-face setting regardless of the medium including music, images and movies. For example, an instructor can show an entire film in class without obtaining permission. However, instructors and pupils must use a lawfully acquired copy of the work.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization providing copyright licenses to facilitate the sharing and use of works. Authors can change their copyright terms from the default of "all rights reserved" to "some rights reserved". For example authors may choose to allow any reuse of their work as long as attribution is given or they may allow any noncommercial reuse of their work. Permission to reuse for educational, scholarly or research purposes is usually not required if the work has a Creative Commons license.
The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) became law in 2002. The TEACH Act expands an instructor’s right to perform and display works for digital distance education. The TEACH Act brings the rights for distance education closer to what is available in the traditional face-to-face teaching environment with some differences:
Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law allows libraries and archives to reproduce and distribute one copy of a work under certain circumstances. For example, libraries may photocopy journal articles, book chapters, etc. and send these copies to other libraries through interlibrary loan. This section also allows libraries to make copies for preservation purposes.
Section 109 of U.S. Copyright Law permits the owner, or any person authorized by the owner, of a lawfully made copy or phonorecord to sell or otherwise dispose of that copy or phonorecord without the permission of the copyright owner.