The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
The 1998 enactment of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) represents the most comprehensive reform of United States copyright law in a generation. The DMCA seeks to update U.S. copyright law for the digital age. If music, movies, TV shows, games, or any copyrighted material is downloaded without permission from the copyright holder, the law is being broken. Also, sharing those files, even accidentally, is still illegally distributing copyrighted material.
If copyrighted material is shared, your ResNet connection may be terminated, the Office of Student Conduct may be contacted, and you may be subject to legal proceedings relating to the violation of the copyright holder’s rights.
What happens when the University gets notified of copyright infringement?
- Notices of individual accounts allegedly sharing music must be investigated. Generally, the account information is identified and access to the network is blocked until the individual has indicated that any possible sharing of music has been disabled.
- When preservation notices are received by the University, individuals’ accounts are identified and account holders are notified that data is being retained at the request of a legal representative associated with an alleged copyright violation.
- When pre-litigation notices are sent to the University by a legal representative associated with a copyright violation, individuals’ accounts are identified and account holders are notified of the pre-litigation information. Generally, the individual has 20 days to reply back to the legal representative and settle out of court.