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UW-Whitewater Copyright

Respect for the intellectual property of others is vital to the academic exchange and development of ideas and information. Copyright law protects the rights of the copyright holder to control how a work is used and obtain commercial benefit from it. The rights protected for a limited period of time include the right to reproduce, distribute, adapt, perform, and display the work. The University will implement appropriate policies and procedures to support these rights without infringing on the legal use by individuals of those materials

The University of Wisconsin – Whitewater complies with U.S. copyright law and its amendments (Title 17 of the U.S. Code). Copyrighted materials may be reproduced under certain conditions defined as “fair use.” Otherwise, reproduction requires permission of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the staff member or student using the material to determine if the “fair use” privilege applies. If it does not, it is their responsibility to request written permission for reproduction from the copyright holder.

Faculty, staff and students are expected to respect the intellectual property rights of others in the use of University computing and network facilities including the observance of copyright law, license provisions, and the proper attribution of authorship of documents. This policy applies to everyone using the campus backbone for either academic or personal purposes. Violation of copyright law will be addressed according to the faculty, staff and student rules of conduct, with the involvement of appropriate authorities.

Copyright policy concerning intellectual property developed by members of UW System institutions are described in the document: UW System’s Copyrightable Instruction Materials Ownership, Use and Control.

Fair Use
Copyright Guidelines Software
File Sharing
Internet
Multimedia
Videotaping
Distance Education
University Web site and Symbols
Copyright Compliance Procedures
Additional Information

Fair Use

Fair use places restrictions on the exclusive rights of the copyright holder and allows the use of portions of a work for research and non-commercial educational purposes without seeking permission of the copyright holder. Section 107 of the Copyright Law defines four conditions that must be met to be considered “fair use”:

The purpose or character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
The nature of the copyrighted work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole (for additional guidelines on what constitutes an “acceptable” portion of work under fair use, refer to the University of Texas and Stanford University sites mentioned in this section)
The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

For additional information on “fair use”,

Copyright Guidelines Software

Computer software license agreements may vary from product to product. It is essential that individual users of computer software be cognizant of license agreement constraints and abide by the conditions specified in each The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has the responsibility to uphold software license provisions and copyright laws for the software that is officially installed and the publications officially posted on the campus network. The University cannot accept responsibility for unofficial software installations, publication postings, and messages that are the act of private individuals acting in a private capacity. The University will, however, remove software or publications from its network and computing facilities whenever it discovers their installation constitutes copyright violation, piracy, or another form of malfeasance. For more information, see the University Handbook, Computer Software Copyright Policies

File Sharing

Intentional sharing of copyrighted files of any type (music, video, software, text) is strictly prohibited and violates Federal Copyright laws. Anyone found to be illegally sharing files on the UW-Whitewater network whether from residence halls, offices, library, computer labs, wireless access points, or any other computer, may be subject to disciplinary actions, including disconnection, by the University and or legal actions.

Instructions for disabling file-sharing can be found at: http://my.resnet.uww.edu/

Internet

The right to use copyrighted materials in the traditional classroom does not imply the right to use it in another environment (i.e., the Internet). The Internet makes it easier to locate, scan, copy, alter, transmit and otherwise distribute copyrighted material in digital format. Copyright law applies to material found or posted on the Internet to the same extent that it applies to material found in more traditional settings. Owning a copy of a copyrighted work does not provide the rights of a copyright owner. Digitizing information for an electronic environment is limited by copyright law.

Multimedia

Instructional faculty, staff, and students are expected to comply with copyright legislation pertaining to fair use in creating multimedia products. For more information on this topic see

The Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia

Videotaping

Guidelines for taping off-air programming can be found at Guidelines for Off-Air Taping for Educational Purposes.

Distance Education

The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH, November 2002) extended the exemptions allowed for instructional broadcasting to digital distance learning. This act permits display and performance of reasonable excerpts from nearly all types of works, excluding those marketed as part of mediated instructional activities or unlawfully acquired. Digitization of parts of analog works is allowed if the work is not already available in digital format. Use of the copyrighted work must be at the direction of the instructor as part of a class and restricted to only the students in that class. Retention of content and student access may be for a brief period of time. It permits copying and storage that is incidental or necessary to the technical requirements of the system. More information on the act can be found at Distance Education and the TEACH Act

University Website and Symbols

All text, images, logos, and information contained on the official UW-Whitewater web pages are the intellectual property of the university unless otherwise registered and protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Code. Work of individual faculty is protected by the guidelines established by the Board of Regents in General Administrative Policy Paper #27 Copyrightable Instructional Materials Ownership, Use and Control. Works are not to be used or reproduced without the express written permission of the copyright holder. The UW-Whitewater seal, wordmark and monogram are legally protected trademarks. For promotion and resale applications the "TM" subscript must be incorporated with the UW-Whitewater seal and wordmark to provide proper legal protection. Any commercial, fund-raising or promotional uses of the trademarks, or other licensed logos, require prior approval.

Copyright Compliance Procedures

The Designated Agent for complaints dealing with copyright is the General Counsel of the University of Wisconsin System, 1856 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 (phone 608 262-6497, counsel@uwsa.edu).

Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 limits the liability of online service providers, such as the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for certain copyright infringement liability if various procedures are followed. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater policy is developed according to the guidelines of DMCA.

Complaint Notice Procedures for Copyright Owners A notice of alleged copyright infringement to the Designated Agent must provide the following information

A physical or digital signature of the owner of an exclusive copyright right, or the owner's authorized agent.
A description of the works claimed to be infringed.
A description of the allegedly infringing works or site sufficient to enable the Designated Agent to find them.
Sufficient information to enable the Designated Agent to contact the complaining party.
A statement that the complaining party believes in good faith that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, the owner's agent, or the Copyright Act.
A statement that the information provided by the complaining party in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner of one or more of the exclusive copyright rights.

Alleged Infringement Notification Procedures Upon being notified by the Designated Agent of the alleged infringing material, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Instruction, Communication and Information Technology personnel will make a reasonable effort to notify the person identified by the agent, make reference to the existing copyright law, and alert the person of the procedures for removal of an infringing site. Repeated complaints may result in site removal.

There will be an attempt to secure the voluntary take-down of the material in question. If voluntary cooperation is not obtained, the University personnel will immediately disable access to the offending Web site or page unless it is determined that the use of the material in question is lawful under copyright law. The owner of the site or page of the alleged infringing material may exercise their counter-notice procedure rights outlined below.

Counter-Notice Procedures After a Web site or page is voluntarily disabled or taken down, the University can proceed to counter-notification on its behalf or on behalf of its employees or students. Or, the owner of the Web site or the page may provide counter-notification to the Designated Agent. Counter notices can claim only that either the copyright owner is mistaken and that the material is lawfully posted or that the material has been misidentified. A site/page owner may also assert that the use of another person's work is fair use and it falls under the provision that the copyright owner is mistaken in characterizing the work as infringing. Appropriate University officials may be consulted in arriving at a fair use determination. Counter notices to the Designated Agent must contain the following

A physical or digital signature of the site or page owner.
A description of the materials removed and its location before it was removed.
A statement that the owner believes in good faith that the material was removed by mistake or that the work is not infringing or that it was misidentified.
The owner's name, address, and phone number and his or her consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court with proper jurisdiction for any court actions arising from the infringement.
A statement that the owner will accept service of process from the complaining party.

Access to the materials in question will be restored within 10 to 14 business days after the date the Designated Agent receives the counter notice unless the Designated Agent first receives a notice from the complaining party that he or she has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the site/page owner.

The Designated Agent will promptly send a copy of any substantially conforming counter-notice to the complaining party indicating that the site/page will be restored in 10 to 14 business days unless the Designated Agent receives a notice of court action.

Additional Information

Global Policies

Global policies are maintained to set guidelines expected behavior of all campus community members while using shared network and computer resources.