exciting news for those following this bill.
The full article from The Chronicle is included at the bottom of the
announcement.

James Mitchell



NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources
from across the Community
July 18, 2002

             TEACH Act Approved by House Judiciary Committee
            Technology Harmonization and Education Act (S 487)
                      Seems Assured of Final Passage
                  Chronicle of Higher Education Report:
             http://chronicle.com/free/2002/07/2002071801t.htm

           See also: http://www.oit.umd.edu/pp/relations/teach/

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the
Technology Harmonization and Education Act (the TEACH Act) (S 487) -
for text see: <http://thomas.loc.gov/>.

This Bill is the result of efforts to implement the recommendations
of a 1999 Copyright Study on how to update the Copyright Act to
fulfill the just and legal needs of distance education in a digital
world. The study, "Report on Copyright and Digital Distance
Education," is available at:
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/docs/de_rprt.pdf. A good resource on
this legislation is available at the University of Maryland Office of
Information Technology's web site:
http://www.oit.umd.edu/pp/relations/teach/


David Green
===========


>>Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 09:03:24 -0400 (EDT)
>>From: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: House Committee Votes to Ease Copyright Restrictions on Distance
>> Education
>>
>>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education
>>
>> Thursday, July 18, 2002
>>
>> House Committee Votes to Ease Copyright Restrictions on
>> Distance Education
>>
>> By ANDREA L. FOSTER
>>
>> The enactment of a bill that would make it easier for
>> educational institutions to use films and songs in online
>> instruction was all but assured Wednesday after a key House of
>> Representatives committee approved the legislation.
>>
>> The House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the bill,
>> the Technology Harmonization and Education Act (S 487), on a
>> voice vote without debate. It is identical to a bill the
>> Senate approved in June 2001.
>>
>> The legislation would expand the exceptions under the
>> Copyright Act of 1976 that allow colleges and schools to use
>> copyrighted material for instruction without securing
>> copyright holders' permission.
>>
>> The act allows distance-education providers to digitally
>> transmit nondramatic literary and musical works. Under the
>> bill, they would also be able to show students selected
>> portions of movies, plays and other dramatic works.
>>
>> The legislation applies only to accredited, nonprofit
>> educational institutions.
>>
>> Educational and media interests, which had long been at odds
>> over easing copyright law for online instruction, had
>> negotiated a compromise -- later formalized in the bill --
>> more than a year ago. But the chairman of the Judiciary
>> Committee, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., had held up the
>> legislation. Mr. Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, had
>> indicated that he would only move the bill forward in tandem
>> with another piece of legislation to create new protections
>> for databases.
>>
>> Mr. Sensenbrenner relented, however, when higher-education
>> interests made a recent push to have the technology
>> legislation passed into law, and when he realized that
>> database legislation would be difficult to move forward.
>>
>>____________________________________________________________
>>
>>This article from The Chronicle is available online at this address:
>>http://chronicle.com/free/2002/07/2002071801t.htm
>>
>>If you would like to have complete access to The Chronicle's Web
>>site, a special subscription offer can be found at:
>> http://chronicle.com/4free
>>____________________________________________________________
>>
>>You may visit The Chronicle as follows:
>>
>> * via the World-Wide Web, at http://chronicle.com
>> * via telnet at chronicle.com
>>_____________________________________________________________
>> Copyright 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education

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