Amendment to Copyright Act passes legislative three readings to cope with distance education

　In response to the development of digital technology and the needs of educational policy and pandemic control nowadays, on May 27, 2022 the Legislative Yuan adopted the amendment to partial provisions of the Copyright Act by a third reading, and the amended provisions are concerning the fair use of copyrighted works in distance education as an extension of the classroom, which will allow schoolteachers to give instruction without worrying about infringement.  Also for fitting in with digital education policies, the amendment incorporates provisions that allow textbook preparers to transmit the digital files of textbooks or educational materials to both schoolteachers and students to form e-schoolbags that will alleviate the burden of students’ heavy schoolbags.  Besides, to actualize cultural development of the country, the amendment also introduces provisions that permit the National Central Library to reproduce its collections in digital forms under specific conditions for readers’ online viewing in the library.  

Key points of the amendment are summarized as follows.  

1.  Schools’ fair use of copyrighted works in distance education to enrolled students

Currently schoolteachers are legally allowed to print and distribute to students copyrighted teaching materials, within a reasonable scope, only for face-to-face teaching at schools.  Now due to technological development and to enable schoolteachers to provide remote education as they do in classrooms, the amendment adds provisions allowing teachers to provide students with reference materials or information via the Internet within the necessary scope of teaching at schools so as to cope with the needs of remote education when schools shut down due to the pandemic and to enhance teaching efficiency and to keep abreast with international trends and technological development.  In addition, in order to avoid excessive infringement upon copyright holders’ rights and interests, the amendment also requires schools to take reasonable technical measures (such as, account passwords) to prevent those students who do not take the course from accessing it.  Moreover, as distance education involves public interest, schoolteachers will not be required to pay for authorization for using any other persons’ copyrighted works (amended Article 46).  

2.  Fair use of copyrighted works for non-profit distance education on condition of payment of remuneration 

In regard to distance education for general public (e.g. not-for-profit massive open online courses (MOOCs) education platform eDX), the current law regulates only televised education, like national open university and provides no provisions governing fair use of copyrighted works by online education.  In this regard, the amendment introduces regulative provisions that permit and govern schools’ or educational institutions’ fair use of copyrighted works for distance online teaching, which involves more channels of transmission and target audience, including not only traditional broadcasting and TV but also synchronous or asynchronous transmission directed to general public different from enrolled students as mentioned above.  Hence, fair use of copyrighted works within the necessary scope of education is legally allowed on condition of remuneration payment to copyright holders so as to ensure their rights and interests.  On the other hand, for profit-seeking distance education (e.g. online education provided by cram schools), due authorization is also required for involving no public interest in order to protect copyright holders’ rights and interests (amended Article 46-1).  

3.  Digital copies transmission by textbook preparers to schoolteachers and students for the need of e-schoolbags

According to current stipulation, for textbook examination and compilation, textbook preparers may use copyrighted works and can provide schoolteachers and students with only paper copies of textbooks for their use, which is unable to meet the needs of students’ use of e-schoolbags in the digital era.  In consideration of the foregoing, the amendment is drafted to additionally set forth regulation allowing and governing textbook preparers’ digital transmission of textbooks for teachers’ and students’ fair use.  Likewise, remuneration payment is required for the authorized fair use of copyrighted works in the aforesaid situation (amended Article 47).  

4.  National Central Library’s digital reproduction of collections and availability of collections to libraries’ intranet 

For the purpose of cultural development, the amendment introduces new provisions that allow the National Central Library to digitally reproduce its collections in advance to avoid their loss or damage so that the National Central Library can preserve contemporary works.  Moreover, the amendment also provides that the National Central Library or general libraries may allow readers to access their collections on the libraries’ intranet under certain restrictions, in lieu of the lending or viewing of paperbacked collections.  This will facilitate not only the digitalization of library services but also preservation of physical library collections (amended Article 48).  

  The Ministry of Economic Affairs emphasized that digital development leads to use of copyrighted works in diverse ways and that distance education turns into an important form of education as a result of the pandemic impact.  As such, the Legislative Yuan greenlighted this amendment in response to the technological developments that have been enhancing educational effects, the use of e-schoolbags, and also facilitating libraries’ collections preservation and digitalized services.  This amendment will tally with Taiwan’s education policies in the digital era, forward diversified developments of education, and establish substantial and positive significance for knowledge distribution.  (Released 2022.05.27)  

/CCS