Running Copyright Compliance at an Educational Institution: A Practitioner's Guide to Policy, the TEACH Act, Course Materials, and Vendors
By Casey Scott McKay ·
This guide builds copyright compliance at an educational institution as four connected systems rather than as a policy document nobody reads. It starts with the ownership policy, written by category and executed as an instrument, because the teacher exception is custom rather than statute and custom does not survive a dispute. It then builds the fair use workflow that produces the documented reasonable grounds supporting remission of statutory damages, and the e-reserves and course materials process organised around licence availability rather than around a word count. The third system is vendor review, where platform terms quietly reallocate rights in faculty and student material the institution does not own. The fourth is training, escalation, and the small number of metrics worth reporting.
IP and Technology > Copyright | Guide | Published 14 February 2026 - Updated 3 April 2026 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. This guide builds copyright compliance at an educational institution as four connected systems rather than as a policy document nobody reads. It starts with the ownership policy, written by category and executed as an instrument, because the teacher exception is custom rather than statute and custom does not survive a dispute. It then builds the fair use workflow that produces the documented reasonable grounds supporting remission of statutory damages, and the e-reserves and course materials process organised around licence availability rather than around a word count. The third system is vendor review, where platform terms quietly reallocate rights in faculty and student material the institution does not own. The fourth is training, escalation, and the small number of metrics worth reporting.
Keywords: institutional copyright policy · ownership by category · teacher exception · signed instrument · fair use workflow · e-reserves process · licence availability test · TEACH Act compliance · section 512 designated agent · repeat infringer policy · vendor terms review · licence grant in uploaded content · exit and data portability · accessibility procurement · student work licence · FERPA interaction · lecture recording clearance · open educational resources · training and escalation · damages remission
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