An Important Reminder Regarding Academic Integrity, Copyright Infringement and the Use of MSUNet
From: vplct@msu.edu
Subject: An Important Reminder Regarding Academic Integrity,
Copyright Infringement and the Use of MSUNet
Date: September 7, 2006 3:10:42 PM GMT-04:00
To: msucommunity@msu.edu
Reply-To: vplct@msu.edu
As an academic community, we value the exchange of ideas and respect
the intellectual work and property of others. Consistent with these
values, we do not condone plagiarism, nor do we condone any unlawful
uses of copyrighted works, including illegal copying and distribution.
All Michigan State University students, faculty, staff, and other
users of MSU's computing systems and digital network (MSUNet), are
expected to abide by the copyright laws of the United States. Using
file sharing software and other means to copy and trade copyrighted
music, movies and videos without the approval of the owners of those
copyrights is very likely to be illegal. So is the unauthorized
copying or distribution of copyrighted software. Users of MSUNet bear
individual responsibility for their use of the network. This means
that users may have personal liability for any damages that result
from copyright infringement actions brought against them because of
their use of MSUNet to copy and share copyrighted material. Copyright
infringement can also lead to criminal charges against the infringer.
Various industries are quite aggressive in their detection and pursuit
of individuals they believe are infringing copyrights, including
seeking monetary damages in lawsuits against these individuals. MSU
complies with the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and
cooperates with copyright owners and their agents who file complaints
alleging copyright infringement against MSUNet users. MSU's
DMCA-related policies and procedures may be found at
http://lct.msu.edu/guidelines.html The University may terminate the
network access privileges of users who are infringers. The University
also regularly refers student repeat infringers to the University
student judiciary system, which has resulted in penalties up to and
including suspension. Similarly, the University may refer employees
who are infringers to their supervisors or unit managers for
disciplinary action.
An increasing number and variety of peer-to-peer file sharing programs
support the scholarship and collaborative work of students, faculty
and staff. The MSU community has a collective interest in protecting
legitimate uses of these programs, as well as in protecting the
available bandwidth and security of our shared network. We thank you
for your attention to appropriate use of MSUNet and related computing
resources at Michigan State University.
