Policy on Resident Use of Copyrighted Materials

The Internet is an essential tool for UW-Madison in support of its academic and research missions. It also enriches the lives of student residents as they pursue their academic and personal goals. Along with these benefits come challenges and responsibilities. One of the most critical is conforming to copyright laws. UW-Madison's Appropriate Use Policy (AUP) is found at http://www.cio.wisc.edu/policies/appropriateuse.aspx.

Trading of copyrighted music, movies, games and software over the Internet may not be legal. You must have the prior consent of the copyright holder to download and/or trade these materials. Copying music, etc., without this consent is illegal. At UW-Madison, we take copyright violations seriously and such violations may result in the cancellation of network access privileges.

Most file-sharing programs install themselves with world-wide sharing enabled by default. So, any system with such software installed can easily be sharing materials with the world without the user(s) of the system being aware of this. If you have any questions about this software and how to ensure legal use, contact the DoIT Help Desk at 264-HELP.

Should copyright infringement be suspected, the following actions will be taken.

Housing's Copyright Violation Action

A resident is flagged for a copyright infringement violation by a copyright holder directly or indirectly through a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint (such as Cease and Desist e-mail notification). The alleged copyright infringement notice will be forwarded to the alleged infringer (tied to the accusing IP address). The resident will be notified of possible outcomes and of the steps they need to take to restore access to the network. The potential outcomes are listed below.

1st Receipt of Copyright Infringement Notice

1. The alleged infringer is placed into a quarantine network which permits access only to UW Madison campus IP addresses.
2. The alleged infringer will be restored to full access upon electronic confirmation that they have removed the file(s) from their computer, have submitted a signed form confirming that they understand the appropriate use policies and copyright laws and agree to not download or share copyrighted material henceforth.

2nd Receipt of Copyright Infringement Notice

1. The alleged infringer is placed into a quarantine network which permits access only to UW Madison campus IP addresses for a minimum of four (4) weeks.
2. The alleged infringer will remain in quarantine until they have met with their Residence Life Coordinator or University Apartments Community Services Manager to review the accusations and reaffirm their understanding of the copyright law and the AUP.
3. Full access will be restored only after their Residence Life Coordinator or University Apartments Community Services Manager has been satisfied that the alleged infringer understands the copyright law and the AUP, and has taken positive and proactive steps to assure that copyrighted material is not being downloaded or shared. For example, a certified hard drive format and re-installation of the operating system by a professional is required. They can contact DoIT Help Desk (264-HELP) to avail themselves to this paid service.
4. A copy of the meeting report will be forwarded to the Office of Dean of Students.

3rd Receipt of Copyright Infringement Notice

1. The alleged infringer is placed into a quarantine network which permits access only to UW Madison IP addresses.
2. The alleged infringer will remain in quarantine for the remainder of the current academic year.