Weber State University provides a direct individual annual disclosure to all students, faculty, and staff regarding copyright infringement and peer-to-peer file sharing. This information will also be included in institutional information provided upon request to prospective and enrolled students. This notice:
Informs all students, faculty, and staff that unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject the students to criminal and civil penalties;
Provides a summary of penalties for violation of federal copyright laws, and;
Provides a description of the University’s policies with respect to peer-to-peer file sharing, including disciplinary actions that are taken against students, faculty, or staff members who engage in unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials using the institution’s information technology system.
The University, under the direction of the Vice President of Information Technology or his or her designee:
Uses a variety of technology-based deterrents in an effort to combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including the use of:
Bandwidth shaping on the unauthenticated wireless network through the use of Cisco Wireless Traffic Management.
Traffic Monitoring on all University networks to monitor for bandwidth use outside the expected range through the use of NetFlow.
A program of accepting and responding to Digital Millennium Copyright Act notices, as outlined in section III part C.
Content filtering on the unauthenticated wireless network through the use of UEN hosted 8e6 filtering.
Network access control on the University Village Housing wired network through the use of Packetfence.
Conducts a periodic review of the effectiveness of the plan using relevant assessment criteria. The assessment takes into consideration best practices and outcome-based criteria. A report prepared by a Network Security Administrator is presented to the Vice President of Information Technology on a semiannual basis. The report may include the number of known legitimate copyright infractions occurring on the University network for a determined amount of time, before and after comparisons of the number of legitimate electronic infringement notices received by the University, and information regarding recidivism rates.
Suggests alternatives to illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property. Alternatives suggested by the University are included in the annual disclosure, and can also be found on the Information Technology Division's website.
Compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA):
Upon proper notification of a copyright infringement claim involving music, video, software or other digital material, Weber State University takes appropriate steps to remove the offending content as quickly as possible, and notifies the alleged infringer of the claim. Where possible, the following processes are followed:
A notice is sent to the user through campus email by a Network Security Administrator. The notice includes:
The reason for the notice,
A copy of the DMCA notice received by the Network Security Administrator,
Instruction of what steps the user may take to resolve the copyright infringement problem,
A link and reference to PPM 10-2, Acceptable Use Policy,
An explanation of the consequences of copyright infringement,
Notification of the actions the University may take on first offense and subsequent offenses, including:
On first offense,
A request for a reply to the email within 3 business days stating that the user has reviewed PPM 10-2 and has removed the infringing material.
Notification that network access will be disabled for the computing device if a reply is not received within 3 business days.
Notification of the actions that will be taken by the University in response to subsequent offenses, including disciplinary actions in accordance with University policy.
On second offense,
Notification that network access has been disabled for the computing device sited in the DMCA notice
Instruction to contact the Service Desk to have network access reinstated for the computing device, with advisement that a $ 50 charge is associated with the service.
Notification of the actions that will be taken by the University in response to subsequent offenses, including disciplinary actions in accordance with University policy.
On third offense,
Notification that network access has been disabled for the computing device sited in the DMCA notice.
Notification that the individual is subject to disciplinary actions in accordance with University policy, and will be referred to the appropriate party for review.
Access to the University network by the user's computing device is disabled by a Network Security Administrator.
A Network Security Administrator notifies a Service Desk representative that network access for the user's computing device is disabled and provides the Service Desk representative with the cause for disabling access.
If the user requests assistance from the Service Desk in reinstating network access to the computing device, a Service Desk representative:
Educates the user about the Acceptable Use Policy.
Informs the user of the consequences associated with copyright infringement.
Performs the necessary work on the user’s computing device to bring it into compliance with the Acceptable Use Policy.
Notifies a Network Security Administrator of the action taken to remove the copyright infringement material, and of the user's request for network access.
The copyright infringement claim, and the action taken by the University, is logged in an incident file.
A repeat offense by an individual may result in termination of the user’s account and/or disciplinary action in accordance with University policy PPM 3-33, Discipline (Staff Employees), University policy PPM 6-22, Student Code.
