The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) amended the Copyright Act, Title 17 of the U.S. Code containing federal copyright law, added section 512-Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation. Section 512 provides "safe harbor" provisions for Internet service providers from liability of copyright infringement based on four categories, two of which are "transitory digital network communications" and "storage of information on systems or networks at direction of users." In general, the College must implement reasonable policy for terminating accounts of repeat offenders; not interfere with standard technical measures to protect copyrighted material; and have procedures for dealing with DMCA Notices of Copyright Infringement, and take down or block access to infringing material.
Fort Lewis College supports compliance with copyright law. Unauthorized copying, distribution and certain other uses of copyrighted material are illegal and can expose you to severe civil and criminal liability under copyright law. This applies to all types of copyrighted works, including music, movies, software, games, and other literary and artistic works.
Protecting intellectual property and controlling costs, including the cost of Internet bandwidth, benefits everyone. Downloading unauthorized copies of music and movies is not only illegal, but it is an abuse of campus network resources that can interfere with the academic pursuits of other students and faculty. The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 required the College to create a "Policy and Plan to Combat Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Material and Peer-to-peer (P2P) File Sharing," and notify prospective and enrolled students of institutional polices and sanctions related to copyright infringement.
Fort Lewis College Policy 6-10 Acceptable Use of Information Technology
Definition:
Copyright Infringement: Any violation of the exclusive rights of a copyright owner.