Responsible Use of Electronic Resources

Responsible Use of Electronic Resources

Use of Copyrighted Material on Teachers College
and Columbia University Computer Systems and Networks
(May 2008)

 

Dear Teachers College Community Member,

The College provides an array of electronic resources and services for the primary purpose of supporting its missions of education, research, and service.  Whether a citizen, resident, or visitor in the United States, as a member of the Teachers College community, you are responsible for complying with applicable copyright laws as well as the College’s policies regarding the use of electronic resources, including computers, networks, email, online information resources, and the use of copyrighted material on the College’s and Columbia University’s computer systems and networks.

Peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, such as Kazaa's FastTrack network and Limewire's Gnutella network, have made it easier for individuals to obtain and share unauthorized copies of music, film, television programs, and other copyrighted works. The distribution or sharing of such unauthorized copies is against the law and exposes the user and the institutions to legal liability. The use of programs such as these also places a burden on all members of the College community by consuming large amounts of bandwidth, possibly interfering with appropriate uses of the College’s computer systems and network. 

 

Copyright Law and Policy. To copy, distribute, share, or store any copyrighted material on the Internet without the express permission of the copyright owner infringes the copyright owner’s rights in the material unless an exception applies (certain limited educational and research uses, for example, would be permissible). Violations of copyright law are also violations of College policy and may subject you to disciplinary action under applicable College procedures.

Copyright protection covers any original work of authorship that is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. A work is protected from the moment it is created and does not have to contain a copyright notice to be protected. This broad protection means that just about any work you come across—software, books, music, film, video, articles, cartoons, pictures, email—is likely to be protected by copyright. While there are certain exceptions under the law that allow limited copying or distribution of protected works, the use of peer-to-peer software programs to make and share copies of copyrighted music and movies without permission of the copyright owner would virtually never qualify for an exception.

 

Monitoring Copyright Abuse.  Neither the College nor the University monitors their networks for content, only for volume of use. However, the University automatically limits Internet access for computers generating excessive network traffic.   If the use of any computer threatens the missions and activities of the College or University, access to the network may be suspended. 

Representatives of copyright holders routinely survey networked computers in order to detect copyright violations, and the University has received an increasing number of complaints from these representatives. You can be in violation just by storing illegally obtained copies of works on your computer. Even unintentional infringement violates the law. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the College must take prompt action when notified of a copyright violation.  Many members of the higher education community have been sued by copyright owners in the last few years. A copyright owner can obtain a subpoena requiring the University to identify a person engaging in unauthorized copying, downloading or sharing. In the event the College receives a valid notification of copyright infringement relating to your use of the College’s systems, you will be notified of the alleged illegal activity by CIS, and your network access will be terminated until the problem is corrected. You will be required to sign a letter agreeing not to engage in peer-to-peer file-sharing in the future.  Any one committing a repeat violation will be subject to a disciplinary hearing where appropriate sanctions may be imposed. The College is required to show an escalating response to copyright violations or be held liable and subject to a lawsuit. 

For information on bandwidth limits, the University's Computer and Network Use Policy, and a link to information on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/policy/. For the Teachers College policy, which incorporates the University policy, see http://www.tc.columbia.edu/computing/aupolicy.

The College recognizes the growing dependence of the community on the services and resources the network delivers in support of education. Proper use of those services and resources will enhance the quality of the network and systems for all.

 

Provost and Dean of the College

Teachers College, Columbia University