Information Technology Services
Student & Administrative Services Center, Rm. 2072 · (570) 320-7329
Electronic Copyright Issues
Copyright provides the exclusive legal right to publish, reproduce, and distribute an original literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work. A work is protected as soon as it exists in some directly or indirectly perceptible form (physical or electronic). Federal copyright law prohibits you from publishing or otherwise distributing protected materials without the express permission of the copyright holder.
Stay on the Right Side of Copyright Law
- Do not use another's words on your Home Page without authorization, even if those words were part of an e-mail message, listserv post, blog, or other Web page.
- Do not accept or provide a pirated copy of licensed software (most software is protected as literary work).
- Do not download music, movie, or software files from questionable sources.
- Do not use your computer or network storage space to provide access to copyrighted material.
[See also Peer-to-Peer File Sharing]
Consequences for Violators
In accordance with copyright law, the College will respond to acts of copyright infringement committed with Penn College IT resources such as personal home pages stored on College servers, messages/attachments sent via College-provided e-mail systems, and electronic files transferred over the College network. Violators will be subject to the College's due process and may answer to criminal charges. Further information is available in the File Sharing section of the College's Acceptable Use Policy and in the College's Copyright Policy and Procedure statements (VII 7.17).
Reporting Infringement
If you believe your copyright has been violated under the provisions of The
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, please review the U.S.
Copyright Office's
online legislation summary (PDF) to confirm your suspicion. If you remain
confident that infringement has taken place, notify our DMCA agent:
Jim Cunningham, Vice President for
Information Technology and Business Process Improvement
Pennsylvania College of Technology
One College Avenue
Williamsport, Pennsylvania 17701
(570) 320-8036
To avoid dismissal or delay of your complaint, include the following:
- A description of the copyrighted work that is the subject of the alleged infringement
- A description of the infringing material, including the URL or other information identifying how the material can be located
- Your contact information (mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address)
- A statement by you, signed under penalty of perjury, indicating:
- that you have reasonable cause to believe the material in question was not authorized by the copyright owner or its agent, and as such, is in violation of copyright laws,
- that the information you have provided is accurate to the best of your knowledge, and
- that you have the authority to enforce the copyright of the original works.
- A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or person authorized to act on the owner's behalf