Copyright Infringement
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 https://copyright.gov.
The System prohibits use of its computers and computer networks for the unauthorized downloading and uploading of copyright-protected material, or for maintaining or storing unauthorized copyright-protected material. Disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion from the System, will be taken against students who engage in unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials using the System’s information technology system.
The System’s respective Institutional online libraries offer subscription databases with copyrighted materials students can print, download, or email to themselves. Materials include print publications such as books, journals, magazines, newspapers, images, and videos. These materials are only available to authorized users authenticated through the student, staff, and faculty portals.