Friends University affirms the need to safeguard copyrights and intellectual property rights and requires all members of its community, including students and employees, to respect copyright and intellectual property rights and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations that govern the use of copyrighted materials.
Technology-Based Deterrents to Copyright Infringement
Friends University uses content filtering software and anti-plagiarism software as technology-based deterrents to copyright infringement.
Applicable University Policies
The Friends University Internet and Network Usage Policy (available at http://catalog.friends.edu/content.php?catoid=24&navoid=1217#inte_netw_usag ) expressly forbids infringement of copyrights and intellectual property rights.
Definition of Copyright Infringement and Overview of Applicable Penalties
Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.
Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or “statutory” damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For “willful” infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys’ fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505.
Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.
For more information, please see the website of the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov, especially their FAQ’s at www.copyright.gov/help/faq
In addition to the penalties named above, the Friends University Internet and Network Usage Policy states that the following sanctions may be imposed for violation of the policy:
- Access to the University network and other computer-based resources may be removed
- Students may be referred to the Student Discipline Process
- Employees may have disciplinary sanctions up to an including termination imposed
Notification
Friends University students are notified of the University’s policies regarding copyright and intellectual property infringement annually via the Annual Notice emailed to each student by the Financial Aid Office.
Fair Use
The policies summarized above are not intended to prevent the fair use of copyrighted materials for academic and educational purposes. Fair use is generally interpreted to allow non-commercial use of copyrighted material for educational purposes as long as students are not directly charged for the use of the copyrighted material, the material links directly to the learning goals of the course, the use is limited to relatively small sections of the copyrighted material (generally interpreted as one chapter of a book or one article from a journal), the market or sale of the work is not inhibited or harmed, and an appropriate citation is included. Please note that the guidance in this section should not be interpreted as legal advice, but is intended to represent a good faith summary of standard academic practice in regard to the fair use of copyrighted materials.
Legal Alternatives
The Educause website includes the following list of legal alternatives to unauthorized downloading. The list may be accessed at https://www.educause.edu/focus-areas-and-initiatives/policy-and-security/educause-policy/legal-sources-online
Review
This plan and the list of legal alternatives will be reviewed annually by the Academic Technology Committee, which will recommend updates to the plan to the Vice President of Academic Affairs as deemed necessary.