What is Fair Use?
Fair use is one of the exceptions in copyright that permits use of copyrighted material in an educational setting. As long as the use is considered fair there is no need to obtain permission from the copyright holder. There is a four factor analysis which should be applied to determine whether the use is fair.
Below is a document outlining these factors with a checklist to help with your decision.
Here's some additional information about Copyright and Teaching from the University of Minnesota's Copyright Services.
Five minute video from the University of Illinois Libraries titled Face to Face Teaching Copyright Exceptions.
"Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University created a humorous, yet informative, review of copyright principles delivered through the words of Disney characters."
Dr. Faden licensed this video under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
The TEACH (Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization) Act addresses concerns about online distance education.
According to the U.S. Copyright Office:
The TEACH Act facilitates and enables the performance and display of copyrighted materials for distance education by accredited, non-profit educational institutions (and some government entities) that meet the Act's qualifying requirements. Its primary purpose is to balance the needs of distance learners and educators with the rights of copyright holders. TEACH applies to distance education that includes the participation of any enrolled student, on or off campus.
Under TEACH:
TEACH Requirements
In exchange for unprecedented access to copyright-protected material for distance education, TEACH requires that the academic institution meet specific requirements for copyright compliance and education. For the full list of requirements, refer to the TEACH Act at www.copyright.gov/legislation/archive/.
In order for the use of copyrighted materials in distance education to qualify for the TEACH exemptions, the following criteria must be met:
What TEACH Does Not Allow
The new exemptions under TEACH specifically do not extend to:
It is also important to note that TEACH does not supersede fair use or existing digital license agreements.
https://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/basics/teach.html