Provided below is the required annual announcement about copyright policies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Please note that it is not necessary to reply to this email.

Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under Section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code).  Infringement may occur when a copyright protected work is reproduced or distributed without authorization, including when it is uploaded or downloaded from the Internet or otherwise published without permission.  Protected works may include (among other works) music, movies and television programs.  Although there are limited exceptions not requiring permission, such as the doctrine of fair use, sharing substantial portions of such works, including on peer-to-peer networks, without authorization by the rights owner or by meeting the exception requirements is an infringement.

Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or "statutory" damages set at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed.  For "willful" infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed.  A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys' fees.  For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504 and 505.

Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.

All campuses of the University of Illinois make every effort to comply with laws and institutional policies on copyright. Students that receive a copyright infringement notice may face disciplinary actions.  These disciplinary actions may include, and are not limited to, loss of network access, mandatory training about copyright infringement, sanctions of record on academic transcripts, and potential dismissal from the University.

For more information about copyright at the University of Illinois, please visit: http://copyright.illinois.edu

Joe Barnes
Interim Chief Privacy and Security Officer
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

   
     
   
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