• Copyright infringement is against university policy and state and federal law. You are responsible for understanding what constitutes legal use of music, movies, software, images and other copyrighted works that you own or use.

• The No Electronic Theft (NET) Act of 1997 allows for criminal prosecution of individuals who electronically copy and distribute copyrighted work, even if there is no commercial gain from doing so. This is punishable by up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine, so knowing the law is part of safe computing.

• Recorded music and DVDs are copyrighted. It is illegal to download, copy, distribute or sell such works except as allowed by the copyright holder. For example, some bands allow free distribution of concert recordings but not of studio-recorded CDs. Distributing the concert recordings is legal, provided it follows the procedures set out by the band. Distributing copies of the studio CDs either through duplication or MP3s is against the law and can be punishable by fine and imprisonment.

• Violating the End User License Agreement (EULA) which comes with most software is also against the law. EULAs tell the owner, among other things, how many computers the software can be installed on and how many copies can be made. Some software, such as Netscape is freely available, but is still protected by copyright. As in the case of Netscape, it may be illegal to distribute certain freely available software packages.

• Copyright Laws & the University - Lucien "Skip" Capone, UNCG University Counsel

• UNC Primer on Copyright Ownership and Fair Use

• U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Basics

• Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) - Enacted by Congress in October of 1998, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act protects the rights of copyright holders from digital piracy.

• What is Copyright Protection? - Covering the basic definition of copyright, this site explains the basic need-to-know information about when copyrights begin and end, their validity on the international scene, and how copyrighted material relates to the internet.

• No Electronic Theft (NET) Act - Enacted in 1997, the NET Act made the distribution of copyrighted software illegal, closing a loophole in the previous law that allowed distribution, as long as no profits were gained from it.

• 10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained - Brad Templeton

Disclaimer

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.