Copyright at UVa: Students
Information for Students
Copyright Matters
This site has been set up to help you understand copyright laws and policies as they apply to digital materials here at UVa. We're here to tell you about the University's commitment to protecting lawful copyrights, the administrative process used to handle infringement cases, and ways you can protect yourself from being involved unwittingly in illegal activities.
UVa takes copyright issues very seriously. If you download a song or a movie, a computer game or a software application in violation of its copyright, you're not just using lots of bandwidth—you're stealing. If you share those copyrighted materials with others, you're helping them to steal, too.
Don't think you'll get caught?—Think again! Industry lawyers target individuals who violate their copyrights—as evidenced by recent lawsuits. Don't believe us? In February 2010, Whitney Harper, a college student, was ordered by a federal appeals court to pay the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) $27,750. This is $750 a track for illegally sharing 37 songs when she was a high school cheerleader. Wired has the details of this case and many others at: illegal copyright litigation. Before installing your P2P software, go visit the web site of Joel Tenenbaum at Boston University.
So we're not kidding when we say you could be liable to huge fines—even jail time—if you infringe. If it comes to the University's attention that you're violating digital copyrights, you could find yourself with no network access—that means no email, no Facebook, no Instant Messenger, no Internet. And it may cost you money to get it back.
Leaving home to go to college means more autonomy for you, more freedom to make your own choices. It also means a greater burden of responsibility and accountability—so choose wisely.
What You Need to Know about Copyright
Page Updated: 2011-06-30
