Wilmington College
Information Technology Department
Copyright Violation Policy
Scope
This policy applies to all employees, students, and guests granted access to the Wilmington College (college) network. This includes any and all wireless and wired networks belonging to the college and managed by the college’s Information Technology Department (IT).
IT Handling of Receipt of Copyright Violation
- Companies filing copyright violation complaints will send a notification detailing copyright violations to the college’s Internet service provider (ISP) and/or the college directly. These complaints usually contain information regarding the date and time the violation occurred, the IP address of the device when the violation occurred, what copyrighted material was illegally shared or downloaded, and the name of the electronic file containing the copyrighted material.
- Once the complaint is received, IT will begin the process of tracking down the violating device noted in the violation notice and disable its access to the network.
- If the violation is copyrighted content (content) posted to any website, social media venue or other internet communication media that is owned and/or controlled by the college, the content will immediately be taken down.
Discovery of a Violating Device
- IT will use the information contained in the copyright violation notice to confirm whether the IP address noted in the violation belongs to college.
- If the IP address does not belong to college, IT will reply to the complainant and the ISP and inform them that the IP address does not belong to the college, and the copyright violation did not take place on the college’s network.
- If the IP address does belong to the college, IT will then proceed to discover the device that had the noted IP address at the time and date of the violation.
- The IT Department will use all means available to it to identify the violating device.
Disabling Network Access for the Violating Device or Content
- If IT is able to identify the violating device used in the copyright violation, that device’s access to the college’s network will be immediately denied.
- If the violation is regarding content posted on college-managed internet communication media (website, social media, etc.) then that content will immediately be taken down and prevented from being placed back into violation by the best appropriate means.
Obligation of the Primary User
- Responsibility for the copyright infringement and any legal repercussions belong to the primary user of the violating device or content used in the copyright infringement on the college’s network.
- The primary user of the device is considered to be a person who may or may not have purchased the device but did physically bring the device onto the college campus with the intent of using it to connect the College’s network. Students or employees who connect a device to the Wilmington College network are considered the primary user of that device even if they do not own the device.
- A primary user of content is the person who posted the copyrighted content into the public view via various internet methods thereby creating the violation. Students or employees who post copyrighted content onto the public view are the primary user of the content, regardless if they own the location or media in which the content was placed.
Contacting the Primary User of the Violating Device
- IT will make reasonable efforts to identity the owner or primary user of the violating device.
- When the primary user is contacted, they will be required to meet with a member of the IT staff. During that meeting, an IT staff member will give the primary user a copy of the copyright infringement notice that was received by IT department and make them aware of the scope of the infringement, whether they be of a legal nature or pertaining to college policies. IT cannot provide legal counsel or advice.
Reinstatement of Access for the Violating Device
- Upon review of the circumstances, IT may choose to reinstate access to the violating device if the violation is resolved.
- If, however, the violation is not resolved or the primary user is not cooperative, IT may choose to continue denying access and may expand the denial of access to include all devices by the primary user until such time as cooperation has been established.