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Digital Copyright Compliance

Downloading, copying, and sharing material, such as music, movies, games, and applications, for which the copyright holder has not given you rights is both illegal and a violation of Indiana Tech’s Acceptable Use Policy for computing resources.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), also referred to as H.R. 4137, primarily addresses obstacles that make it difficult for qualified students to obtain a college education, but it also includes specific statements requiring colleges and universities to comply with digital copyright laws.

This law requires us to take the following steps to deter illegal downloading:

  • An annual disclosure to students describing copyright law and campus policies related to violating copyright law
  • A plan to “effectively combat” copyright abuse on the campus network using a “variety of technology-based deterrents”
  • Provide access to and offer alternatives to illegal downloading

Annual Disclosure

Indiana Tech uses the following methods to inform the university community about the law and the university response to copyright infringement claims:

  • In order to use college computing resources, all members of the Indiana Tech community endorse an Acceptable Use Policy that includes a section on copyright compliance.
  • IT Services will send an email to all students every semester regarding illegal distribution of copyrighted materials.
  • Computing support staff, including student employees,  are made aware of legalities associated with peer-to-peer file sharing during annual orientation.
  • Student residence hall assistants are made aware of illegal peer-to-peer policies during annual orientation with IT Services
  • Indiana Tech’s policies concerning the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and our response to infringement claims are published on our website.

Technology-Based Deterrents

Indiana Tech registers every student computer on the network and takes immediate action to remove that access when notified of a copyright infringement.

Alternatives to Illegal File Sharing

Copyright Violation Notice

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) actively notifies Indiana Tech of individuals on the network who are offering and/or receiving copyrighted movies or music recordings for download through pee-to-peer applications.

Indiana Tech takes these reports very seriously and will take steps to address any infringing activity. Failure to take these actions can potentially result in liability for the university itself. In addition to any university-imposed action, any student using his/her network access privileges to engage in the downloading, uploading, or other unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials is potentially at risk of becoming the target of legal action for copyright infringement. Legal actions in prior years have resulted in thousands of dollars in fines levied against our students.

Repercussions for Copyright Violation

There are several steps taken when notification is received for these illegal activities.

First Offense

  • Immediate suspension of network connectivity from the public network (residential/wireless)*
  • Meeting with the director of housing or student life official
  • Removal of the file sharing application from the computer
  • Assessed fee of $25 added to the student account.

*Network access can be re-instituted upon approval from the director of student life and removal of the file sharing application

Second Offense

  • Suspension of network connectivity from the public network for a period of three months
  • Meeting with the director of housing or student life official
  • Removal of the file sharing application
  • Assessed fee of $50 added to the student account.

Third Offense

  • Suspension of network connectivity from the public network for nine months
  • Meeting with the director of housing or student life official
  • Removal of the file sharing application
  • Disciplinary referral to the Student Conduct Committee
  • Assessed fee of $75 added to the student account.
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