FXUA, its students, faculty, and employees must comply with the provisions of the United States Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). Copyright is the right of the creator of a work of authorship to control the use of that work by others. Copyrighted work may not be reproduced distributed, performed, or adapted by others without the copyright owner’s permission. Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject them to civil and criminal liabilities. Works protected by copyright include, but are not limited to: literary, musical, and pictorial works; sound recordings, motion pictures, and other audiovisual works; and computer software.
FXUA employees shall use computer software only in accordance with the terms of the FXUA Computer Software Policy and the licensing agreement for the software. The University does not condone or support the use of any unauthorized copies of software. All software used by University employees to perform their responsibilities shall be purchased through appropriate procedures.
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 http://www.copyright.gov/, especially their FAQ’s at www.copyright.gov/help/faq.
There are some exceptions in United States copyright law such as the fair use doctrine. The fair use doctrine allows limited use of copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owner for several purposes, including teaching and scholarship. It is the responsibility of each student, faculty, and staff to inform oneself about what is and what is not permissible use of copyrighted material. Copyright and fair use guidelines for students, faculty, and staff can be found on the FXUA Library website and are posted in the FXUA Library as well as at all photocopy machines at FXUA. For additional assistance with copyright and fair use issues, please consult the FXUA Librarians.Violations of FXUA’s copyright and fair use policies will be dealt with in the same manner as violations of other university policies and may result in disciplinary review. In such a review, the full range of disciplinary sanctions is available, including the loss of computer use privileges, dismissal from the University, and legal action.