The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 is a federal law that is designed to protect copyright holders from online theft — that is, from the unlawful reproduction or distribution of their works. The DMCA covers music, movies, text and anything that is copyrighted.
DMCA Violations
You could violate federal copyright law if:
- Somebody e-mails copyrighted material to you and, in turn, you forward it to one or more friends.
- You make an MP3 copy of a song from a CD that you bought (purchasers are expressly permitted to do so) but subsequently make the MP3 file(s) available on the Internet using a file-sharing network.
- You join a file-sharing network and download unauthorized copies of copyrighted material you want from the computers of other network members.
- To gain access to copyrighted material on the computers of other network members, you pay a fee to join a file-sharing network that is not authorized to distribute or make copies of the copyrighted material. You then download unauthorized material.
- You transfer copyrighted material using an instant messaging service.
- You have a computer with a CD burner that you use to burn copies of music you have downloaded onto writable CDs which you then distribute to your friends.
A simple rule of thumb to help you identify which materials are protected by copyright and which are not: If you would typically pay for it, then it is probably protected.
DMCA at WWU
If you are using WWU's computer network, the University is your registered Internet Service Provider (ISP). The DMCA requires ISPs to take down or block access to copyrighted materials in a timely fashion when notified that their customers are sharing copyrighted files.
Complaints typically arrive directly from software, music and motion picture associations, copyright holders and law firms. The University Information Technology Department disables network access for the listed device and attempts to identify the owner to inform him or her about the complaint. If the owner believes the complaint to be inaccurate, they are given the opportunity to contest the finding.
If your network connection has been disabled, call the Help Desk at (573)592-4224. If you are informed that your connection has been disabled due to illegal file sharing or downloading, the steps below must be followed in order to have network access restored:
- Sharing of all copyrighted materials as defined by the UIT Acceptable Use Policy and federal law must be stopped.
- The UIT "Safe and Legal Computing on the Internet" course must be completed. After completing the course an agreement to cease sharing copyrighted materials is signed. Upon signing the agreement it is expected that any files currently being shared across the network will be removed.
- The device will remain off of the WWU network for a minimum of two weeks.
Any future violations by the same person are forwarded to the Dean of Student Life for possible punitive action. Additionally, network access for students with multiple violations may be suspended for one semester on the second violation and forfeited permanently (on the third violation).
Any attempts to circumvent the disabling of network access are treated as a flagrant violation of policy and are forwarded to Dean of Student Life for punitive action.
For faculty and staff violations, departmental supervisors are notified. Repeat employee offenses may be referred to deans, department heads and/or department chairs.
Legal Repercussions for DMCA Violation
In addition to University penalties, DMCA violations may carry heavy civil and criminal penalties. For example, civil penalties include damages and legal fees. The minimum fine is $750 per downloaded file. Criminal penalties, even for first-time offenders, can be stiff: up to $250,000 in fines and five years in prison. Unless served with a subpoena as required under the DMCA, the University does not release the names of (or any personal information about) subscribers in the process of servicing a DMCA notice.
File-Sharing Programs: A Frequent Culprit in DMCA Violations
In many of the cases that UIT handles, violators claim to be unaware that they were distributing copyrighted works across the WWU network. This is due to the design of file-sharing programs such as Kazaa, BitTorrent and others. These programs can automatically make your computer act like a server, causing copyrighted materials to be made available from your computer without your knowledge. In an effort to reduce the number of DMCA violations at WWU, access to all peer-to-peer sharing applications will be blocked campuswide.
If you have copyrighted material on your computer and need assistance removing it, call the UIT Help Desk at (573)592-4224.
For additional information regarding the DMCA, visit the Music United Web site.
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