Hesston College Policy Regarding Network Distribution of Copyrighted Material

The Hesston College campus network (network, e-mail system, internet connection and dorm room connections) provides services owned and operated by the college. Conduct on the campus network is to be consistent with Campus Community Standards and must conform to this policy.

Failure to follow these policies may result in the termination of an individual’s network access account and/or the suspension of computer lab, dorm connectivity and/or network and e-mail privileges, and/or other disciplinary procedures. Any questions regarding these policies may be directed to Information Technology at ext. 8103.

Copyrighted material may not be sent or received by e-mail or any of the Internet protocols unless written permission has been secured from the copyright owner. This includes but is not limited to sending or receiving pirated software, music or video that has not been purchased.

The use of server and peer-to-peer type programs, such as LimeWire, FTP servers, web servers, etc., are expressly prohibited. Hesston College Information Technology may implement measures to block, monitor or limit access to these file sharing services as needed to ensure network integrity.

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 Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov, especially their FAQ's at www.copyright.gov/help/faq

Legal downloading

Examples of legal sites that can be used to purchase and download video and music files include; Amazon, Apple iTunes, Microsoft Zune, Netflixs, and Pandora.

Disciplinary process

When a violation of the Hesston College Policy Regarding Network Distribution of Copyrighted Material occurs, the student will be notified by Information Technology (IT) personnel. The network account for that student will be disabled meaning the student’s ability to access the campus network resources will be suspended. The student will meet with the Vice President of Student Life. The student may be required to enter into the Campus Community Standards disciplinary process. Prior to restoring the student’s campus network access privileges, the student’s computer must be inspected by HC IT personnel to remove any illegal material and/or software. Access will be restored by IT only after the appropriate representative of the Student Life Department approves.

Continued violation of the Hesston College Policy Regarding Network Distribution of Copyrighted Material may result in suspension or dismissal from Hesston College.

Policy review

The Hesston College Policy Regarding Network Distribution of Copyrighted Material will be reviewed every three years as part of the Student Life Policy Review process conducted by the SLD Policy Review Committee in collaboration with Information Technology.