OVERVIEW

The purpose of copyright law is to “promote the progress of… useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors... the exclusive right to their respective writings”. The College expects all Technology users to respect the rights of copyright holders by complying with copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

At an institution devoted to the creation of art, MassArt expects all students, employees, and affiliates using Technology to be especially mindful of copyright issues. Artists’ livelihoods are dependent in large part on the protection of intellectual property rights by means of copyright (source U.S. Const., art. I, sect. 8).

Most audio, visual, and textual work available on the Internet has copyright protection. The exceptions to this are creative works in the public domain or works shared freely with the public by the artist under a Creative Commons or similar license. Beyond these exceptions, to be compliant with copyright law you must legally obtain a copy of a copyright-protected work -- which in practice typically means paying a licensed distributor (e.g., Amazon, Apple, Getty Images, Google, et al) for a personal copy. Obtaining a copy legally does not by itself give you the right to distribute it to others, whether in a newsletter, website, or through file sharing.

Any user storing or transmitting copyrighted materials using College Technology represents and warrants that the submission, installation, copying, distribution, and use of such materials will not violate any other party’s proprietary rights.

POLICY STATEMENT

MassArt prohibits any infringement of intellectual property rights by any member of the College community. As an academic institution, MassArt’s purpose is to promote and foster the creation of intellectual property. It is antithetical to this purpose for MassArt to play any part, even inadvertently, in the violation of the intellectual property rights of others. MassArt’s policy regarding student use of computer resources clearly states that a student who reproduces or distributes copyrighted materials in electronic form without permission from the material’s owner may be removed from the MassArt computer network, and may face further disciplinary action or even legal action.

Downloading music, videos, software, photographs, cartoons, artwork, images, and other copyright- protected materials without legitimately purchasing a copy of that work exposes you to risk of legal action and sanctions under this policy and other College policies addressing acceptable use of Technology.

Similarly, sharing copies of copyright-protected files without permission of the copyright owner exposes you to the risk of legal action and sanctions by MassArt, and a non-MassArt recipient to legal action.

DISCUSSION

METHODS FOR ILLEGALLY DISTRIBUTING COPYRIGHT-PROTECTED WORKS

The most common methods for illegally obtaining copyright-protected content are Peer-to-peer (P2P) and stream-ripping. (According to the RIAA, “Stream ripping is the fastest growing form of music piracy globally and has now replaced other forms of downloading as the most prevalent form of online music piracy.” https://www.riaa.com/ifpi-worlds-largest-music-stream-ripping-site-faces-international-legal-action/

P2P software allows you to search the Internet for music and video files and download them to your computer. Music applications such as KaZaA and Morpheus are network-based programs that allow users to download and distribute music files from computer to computer across networks using P2P protocols.

Stream-ripping is software that creates a copy of the audio in streamed music or video. If it is copyright-protected content, then making a copy is violating the copyright owner’s rights. 

CONSEQUENCES OF COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS

By illegally downloading copyright-protected works you are breaking Federal and International copyright laws and violating MassArt’s acceptable use policy. Furthermore, music services utilize an excessive amount of bandwidth to connect to the internet, reducing capacity for those who are using it for legitimate purposes. Misuse of network resources can adversely impact the ability of all students, faculty, and administration to conduct of College business, and is a violation of this and other MassArt policies.

Finally, the use of software allows millions of Internet users access to your computer for sharing music and video files and can create a “back-door” into our network. This exposes your computer and the rest of the College to security risks from malicious software and illegal hacking activity that could lead to a data breach, loss of availability of College Technology, identity theft, and other negative outcomes, some of which could put the College in legal jeopardy. The College reserves the right to block access to any website, service, or application that it determines presents an unreasonable security or legal risk to the College.

ILLEGAL USE

The use of programs to trade copyright-protected content over the internet is illegal and violates copyright laws. Recreational downloading of copyrighted materials, such as through stream-ripping, P2P, or other means, is a violation of both federal law and College policy. Civil and legal complaints are typically filed by the owners of copyrighted materials and legal counsel for industry organizations acting on behalf of their constituents, such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Copyright infringement occurs whenever you make or distribute songs, videos, software, cartoons, photographs, stories, and novels without authorization from the copyright owner or their authorized distributor. Infringement can also occur when one person purchases an authorized copy, but allows others to reproduce additional “pirated” copies. When using a computer network to share copyrighted materials with others, both the people making copies (downloading) and those offering such materials to others (serving) are infringing upon copyright owners’ rights and violating federal and international copyright law.

The distribution of copyrighted material from your computer, including music, games, and videos, for which you do not have the owner’s permission is a violation of federal law, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and MassArt policy.

COPYRIGHT OWNER RIGHTS

Under the Copyright Act, electronic works like music and videos are “works of authorship” just like books or art. The creators of electronic works have the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute their creations. Copying and sharing MP3 music files through software or reproducing a purchased cd or dvd violates the exclusive rights of the creator.

FINES, JUDGMENTS, AND PENALTIES

The liability of students who engage in unlawful file sharing of copyrighted works (including recordings, musical works, movies, television programs, software, video games, and photographs) on university networks is substantial. Copyright law provides for statutory damages ranging from a minimum of $750 to a maximum of $30,000 per work, with an increase to $150,000 for willful copyright infringement.

Alternatively, copyright owners may choose to seek actual damages to recoup estimates of lost royalties.

COLLEGE LIABILITY

Colleges and universities generally do not have a legal duty to control students’ private conduct. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act defines the procedures MassArt, as a service provider, must use to deal with illegal copyright violations. MassArt could face claims of contributory or vicarious liability if students are using and distributing copyrighted creative works illegally, and the College did not cooperate with authorities on removing the offending files and controlling infringement.

APPROPRIATE USE

It is an appropriate use of College Technology to share your own personal work with others; however, you should be mindful that excessive may result in bandwidth restrictions.

COLLEGE ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS

If MassArt is notified of a credible allegation of a copyright violation by a copyright owner or their legal representative, the College is legally required to address it. The offending user’s computing device or devices will be disconnected from the network and notify the user will be notified that they must remove programs or data that are in violation of the copyright from their device or devices. The offending user is required to sign a form stating that the offending files have been removed, and that there will be no further copyright violations. MassArt takes these actions because we are required to do so by law. Users are advised that they may be subjected to civil liability and criminal prosecution for copyright violations. The law requires service providers to deny network access to “repeat infringers.”