Computer Policy & Copyright Infringement Policy
Information systems (including computers, computer accounts, printers, networks, software, electronic mail, Internet access) at Defiance College are provided for the use of Defiance College students, faculty and staff in support of the College’s academic and administrative programs. All students are responsible for seeing that these systems are used in an effective, efficient, ethical, and lawful manner. The use of information systems is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked at any time for misuse.
1. All computer equipment, accessories and systems owned by the College are to be used for College related activities only. All access to the College’s computing resources, including the issuing of accounts and hardware or software purchases must be approved through the Computer Services Office.
2. It is the student’s responsibility to maintain the physical/hardware and logical/software security of any device connecting to the Defiance College network including, but not limited to, the operating system, the security and software patches and updates, and an up to date antivirus software package.
3. Use of College computing resources is subject to all College policies and procedures. Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject you to civil and criminal liabilities.
The “Computer Policy” of Defiance College requires that students use the College’s computer resources, including access to the Internet through the network, in a lawful manner. Infringement of copyright via unauthorized peer-to-peer file-sharing is illegal and is subject to disciplinary action by the College.
If a student is suspected of using the College’s network or other College resources to infringe copyright via illegal or unauthorized file-sharing or downloads, Computer Services will immediately block that student’s access to the network and make a formal referral to the Dean of Student’s Office for disciplinary action. A student’s access to the network will remain blocked until the Dean of Students or their designee has informed the student of the reported or suspected violation and initiated the conduct process.
If the student, through the normal student conduct adjudication process, is ultimately found responsible for having violated the Student Code of Conduct, the following sanctions are recommended:
- 1st Offense: The student will acknowledge, in writing, that they were found to be in possession of infringing material. They will be issued a “Letter of Warning” identifying the inappropriate behavior they engaged in and also indicating that future violations would result in more severe disciplinary action. This letter will be placed in the student’s judicial file.
- 2nd Offense: Loss of network access for their own personal computing equipment and possible referral to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.
- 3rd Offense: Referral to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.
The senior student affairs officer or other appointed designee may adjust or augment the severity of the above sanctions in proportion to the severity of the offense. Other sanctions identified in the Student Code of Conduct may be imposed at the discretion of the hearing officer or hearing body.
Faculty, staff, or other College personnel suspected of engaging in copyright infringement will be referred to Human Resources for appropriate investigation and, when necessary, corrective action.
Summary of Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal Copyright Laws
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 www.copyright.gov.
4. Information systems are not to be used for commercial purposes, non-college related activities or to access inappropriate Internet sites. Records, including all information created through the use of information systems, are property of the College.
5. Fraudulent, harassing, obscene, or unauthorized messages and/or files are not to be sent, printed, posted, requested, or stored. Chain letters or other forms of mass mailings are prohibited.
6. Use of campus information systems requires one’s own valid user ID and password.
7. Students are not to modify the current file configurations or change the system setting. Files should be saved on student’s removable media or on the student’s allotted network drive.
8. A computer, computer account, or electronic mail account assigned to an individual may not be used by others. Each individual is responsible for proper use and protection of the network account, including proper password protection.
9. Information system accounts expire in accordance with the terms of the account. Expired accounts and files associated with them will be deleted.
10. Users of College computing resources should have no expectation of privacy in such use. The College expressly reserves the right to monitor or access its systems and the information stored thereon for any reason it deems appropriate, including routine maintenance and investigation of misconduct. Further, Defiance College may electronically disclose any content or records to satisfy any law, regulation or governmental request, as well as to properly operate and protect its members. Defiance College reserves the right at its sole discretion to review, modify or refuse to post any material or information. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Defiance College will not intentionally monitor or disclose any private mail messages unless permitted or required by law. Defiance College reserves the right to remove any content that it believes to be unacceptable or undesirable.
11. No one should deliberately attempt to degrade the performance of an information system, including but not limited to computers, servers, and networks.
12. Loopholes in information systems, security systems, or knowledge of a special password, are to be reported immediately to authorized Computer Services personnel and are not to be used to damage information systems, obtain extra resources, take resources from another user, or gain access to systems for which proper authorization has not been given. Using programs or tools designed to check for computer system or network security vulnerabilities such as port scanning is prohibited.
13. Some computer software is licensed to Defiance College from vendors. Defiance College does not own this software or related documentation; it is protected by copyright. Any copyrighted software is not to be duplicated or downloaded from campus information systems. The use of software on a local area network or on multiple computers must be in accordance with the license agreement.
An individual’s use of information systems is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked at any time for misuse immediately upon the discovery of a possible violation of these policies. Such suspected violations will be confidentially reported to the Provost and the Dean of Students. Further action may be taken by Defiance College or law enforcement in accordance with the severity of the action(s) in question.