Report on Copyright and Digital Distance Education

Over the past five years, the application of copyright law to distance education using digital technologies has become the subject of public debate and attention in the United States. In the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA), Congress charged the Copyright Office with responsibility to study the issue and report back with recommendations within six months. After an intensive process of identifying stakeholders, holding public hearings, soliciting comments, conducting research, and consulting with experts in various fields, the Office has issued this Report.

Part I of the Report gives an overview of the nature of distance education today. Part II describes current licensing practices in digital distance education, including problems and future trends. Part III describes the status of technologies relating to the delivery and protection of distance education materials. Part IV analyzes the application of current copyright law to digital distance education activities. Part V discusses prior initiatives addressing copyright and digital distance education. Part VI examines the question of whether the law should be changed, first summarizing the views of interested parties and then providing the Copyright Office's analysis and recommendations.