The accelerating development of distance education and the use of technology-mediated instructional materials over interactive computer networks has given rise to heightened interest and thought by faculty and administration alike about related copyright issues. The evolution of distance education from early morning television broadcasts to today's use of the Internet and digital technologies has given rise to heightened content-owner concern about the very real threats of piracy and unauthorized use of copyrighted works in education. This paper examines these issues. It provides an overview of copyright law, including a discussion of the exclusive rights enjoyed by copyright owners and the limitations on those rights by certain exceptions and defenses. The paper describes current efforts in Washington that may result in a specific exception designed to promote distance education through digital technologies. This paper also discusses trends in electronic course ownership policies. And it examines the liability of a higher education institution for the infringing actions of its students, faculty, and staff. This paper is designed to provide readers with an overview of essential copyright and intellectual property law as it relates to education in general and to telecommunicated instruction in particular. It is not intended to provide definitive guidance. (VWC)