Copyright Infringement

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It is a violation of the Code of Computing Practices for any user to commit copyright infringement using university resources. Copyright infringement can also result in civil and criminal penalties with fines ranging from $750 to $30,000 per work infringed.

Higher Education Opportunity Act Compliance

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) was signed into law in August of 2008. It describes the responsibilities of institutions of higher education to curb illegal downloading and distribution of copyrighted materials by students through institutional networks and includes the following three requirements:

  • Institutions must provide annual disclosures to students describing copyright law and campus policies related to violations of copyright law.
  • Institutions must create plans to combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials by users of the institution's network, and the plan must include the use of one or more technology-based deterrents.
  • Institutions must offer alternatives to illegal downloading.
  • Institutions must periodically review their plans for effectiveness.

Annual Disclosure

Educating students on copyright law is an important part of reducing the illegal sharing of copyrighted materials. In compliance with HEOA, the University of Arkansas uses the following methods to inform the campus community about HEOA and the university's response to copyright infringement.

  • All University of Arkansas students, faculty and staff must endorse the Code of Computing Practices before being given access to computing facilities.
  • The Code of Computing Practices acknowledges unauthorized peer-to-peer sharing of copyrighted works such as music and movies as a violation of this code. (Section III, E, 2)
  • An annual notice will be emailed directly to all enrolled students.
  • Information regarding HEOA is posted on the University of Arkansas Newswire website.

Plans to Combat the Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Material

The university has implemented a technology-based deterrent at the border of our campus network that places limitations on all external peer-to-peer network traffic.

Reporting

To report copyright infringements on University of Arkansas websites, please notify:

Harold J. Evans
Associate Vice President, Legal and Research
University of Arkansas System
2404 North University Avenue
Little Rock, Arkansas 72207
501-686-2513
hevans@uasys.edu

Mr. Evans is the agent designated under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, P.L. 105-304.

Procedure

When a computer in a campus office or residence hall has been blocked for copyright infringement, the student, faculty or staff member will receive a notification.  which describes the steps to reestablish your connection. After three violations, you will lose access to the network. Additional sanctions may be applied from Human Resources, the Provost, the Judicial Board, Housing, or the General Counsel.

If you believe you have been blocked in error, send an email to dmca@uark.edu or create a ticket. Include the date and time that you received notification that you had been blocked as well as your name, campus location and the IP address of your computer.

Any questions about the process should be directed to the Office of Student Accountability at 479-575-5170.

For alternatives to illegal file sharing, a list of reference material and other important information, visit Copyright Resources.

Copyright and Fair Use is a guide provided by University Libraries to assist faculty in selecting and using copyrighted materials.