Electronic Information Systems Policy
Introduction
The computing systems at Saint Michael’s College are provided for the purposes of instruction, research, personal development, and administration. This policy informs users of the rights they may expect and their responsibilities. This policy applies to all users of SMC computing resources, including those who access these resources from off campus, including academic and administrative computer systems, the networks, the on-campus information resources, and the Internet resources reached through Saint Michael’s College systems.
Rights
The College will provide an environment in which there is respect for freedom of inquiry and expression; opposition to censorship; privacy and confidentiality; freedom from sexual and other unlawful harassment and related retaliation; and protection of intellectual property. In particular, the same standards and principles of intellectual and academic freedom already supported by the College in other areas extend to material received through the network. This extends also to publication: the same standards of intellectual and academic freedom developed for faculty and student publication in traditional media are applicable to publication in computer media.
Responsibilities
Users are expected to abide by the policies of the College, whose existence makes the use of these resources available. Every user is also expected to be considerate of the rights of other users. Examples of infringements of these principles may include, but are not limited to the following:
Using the Saint Michael’s College system for illegal or criminal purposes.
Unauthorized use of resources for commercial enterprises.
Substantially and willfully interfering with another person’s authorized use.
Obstructing other people’s work by consuming gratuitously large amounts of system resources (e.g., network bandwidth or printers). This includes but is not limited to game playing or monopolizing information resources for entertainment or personal use.
Allowing unauthorized access to accounts and passwords. Violating license agreements.
Illegal File Sharing Issues
Students must recognize that the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials (including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing) may subject them to criminal and civil penalties. The College will take steps to detect and identify such distribution and will cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies and copyright owners. In addition, internal disciplinary action, including but not limited to termination of network access, may be taken.
A list of legal alternatives for downloading music and other copyrighted material is available on the College’s Website. The following is a 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 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 detail, see Title 17, United States Code, Section 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, especially their FAQ’s.