Copyright Law and the Distance Education Classroom (Working Within the Information Infrastructure)

As technology and the idea of distance education is rapidly changing, so too must the law that protects copyrighted material. In 2003 U.S. copyright law was amended with the legislation now known as TEACH (Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization). Tomas Lipinski discusses these changes to copyright law and how they may ultimately affect traditional distance classrooms. Providing a step-by-step explanation of the law and how it impacts these pedagogical issues, Lipinski discusses instructor ownership issues, a general application of "fair use," and other issues that will inevitably arise when technology, intellectual property, and education all intersect.

Tomas Lipinski is a lawyer, and he approaches these volatile (and very new) issues from a legal perspective. This book, however, is written in intermediate terms that will make it accessible (as well as necessary) to the distance educator and administrator. As the framework for distance education and technology (particularly copyright) law is now set in place, this book will prove an invaluable resource for years to come.