Procedure for Responding to Claims of Copyright Infringement
When Clark College receives a copyright infringement claim involving music, video, software, or other digital materials, it takes the following steps under the 1998 federal statute known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA:
- We will check network usage logs and attempt to identify the system alleged to be involved in copyright infringement and, if possible, identify the person using it;
- we will block access to the Internet from the offending system;
- we will notify the copyright holder (or agent) that we are handling the infringement claim under the guidelines of the DMCA;
- we will inform the user that an infringement claim as been made and ask if the user has downloaded or shared the copyrighted material in question without permission.1
First-Time Offenses
If the user acknowledges using the copyrighted material without permission, we will:
- require the user to read the Computing Resources Policy and to review information about the DMCA statute and copyright regulations;
- require the user to submit a statement: (a) confirming the copyright infringement, (b) acknowledging violation of the Computing Resources Policy, and (c) promising not to repeat the behavior;
- inform the user that further violations of copyright law will result in disciplinary action including loss of computing privileges;
- inform the claimant that the matter has been resolved.
If the user denies using the copyrighted material without permission, we will:
- require the user to submit a statement denying the copyright infringement claim;
- inform the claimant that the user has denied the infringement claim. 2
Repeat Offenses
If a user acknowledges a second instance of copyrighted infringement, we will:
- in the case of students, refer the case to the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs for investigation and potential disciplinary action under the provisions of the Code of Student Conduct;
- in the case of employees, initiate disciplinary action in accordance with the provisions of the Clark College Administrative Procedures and/or negotiated agreements
- inform the claimant that the matter has been resolved.
RIAA Pre-Litigation Letters
In February 2007, the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) announced a new strategy
for dealing with suspected instances of copyright infringement. The RIAA has sent
"settlement letters" to colleges indicating their intention to sue users of systems
engaged in illegal file sharing and asking colleges to forward those letters to users.
The letter informs the user that he/she can avoid a lawsuit by immediately contacting the RIAA and paying a settlement fee. If the user declines to do this, a subpoena will be sought to require the college or university to disclose user's identity. The user may, at that time, avoid a lawsuit by paying a settlement fee larger than the original settlement offer. If the user again declines to settle, a lawsuit will be pursued to obtain damages and recover RIAA legal fees.
In the event that Clark College receives a pre-litigation settlement letter, the College will:
- treat the letter as a DMCA copyright infringement claim and respond in accordance with the DMCA response guidelines;
- forward the pre-litigation letter to the system user. 3