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Copyright Information
Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is committed to upholding U.S. copyright law. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) governs the reproduction of copyrighted material. According to the law, “reproduction is not to be used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a reproduction for any purpose in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for a copyright infringement.
Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject AUM community members to civil and criminal liabilities. Members should be aware, however, that not all uses of copyrighted materials are illegal. The U.S. Copyright Act allows for the copying and distribution of copyrighted materials when such use satisfies the requirements of “fair use.” More information about fair use can be found at the AUM Library site.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a provision establishing limitation of liability for infringement of copyright laws by users of computing resources at institutions of higher education. In compliance with the rules of this act, the University has designated an agent to receive statutory notices from copyright owners about infringements and to send statutory notices to affected subscribers.
Rickey Best
Collections Development Librarian
PO Box 244023
Montgomery, AL 36124-4023
[email protected]
The AUM Library and Information Technology Services reserve the right to refuse to accept a reproduction request if it is judged that fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Penalties for Copyright Infringement
Unauthorized copying or distribution of copyrighted material violates the AUM Appropriate Use Policy. This policy prohibits the unlawful downloading, uploading and/or distribution of copyrighted music, movies, images, and software on the network.
AUM’s responsibility under the law is to respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing. When AUM receives a DMCA notification, it is reviewed by the designated agent and forwarded to the affected subscriber who is associated with the notification.
Penalties for copyright infringement at AUM include but are not limited to temporary restriction of network privileges, permanent restriction of network privileges, and criminal prosecution (see also P2P File Sharing Policy).
Copyright Civil and Criminal Liabilities
If there is infringement, Section 504 of the U.S. Copyright Act gives the copyright holder the choice of recovering the following:
Additional information regarding civil and criminal liabilities can be found in Section 504 of the U.S. Copyright Act.
The Higher Education Opportunity Act requires all colleges and universities to offer legal alternatives to unauthorized downloading. The bullets below include legitimate online services that are approved by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA). No endorsement or evaluation is intended.
Legal Sources of Online Content
For more information on copyrights, refer to the following sites:
