Copyright Notification
Summary of Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal Copyright Laws
Under the provisions of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is providing you this notice that the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material may subject you to criminal or civil penalty:
Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.
Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or "statutory" damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For "willful" infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys' fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505.
Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.
For more information, please see the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office, especially their FAQ's.
The University of Tennessee has adopted IT Policy IT0110-Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources which states in item 3 "Users WILL NOT... (e.) Commit copyright infringement, including file sharing of video, audio, or data without permission from the copyright owner".
Information on reasonable free or paid alternatives to illegal downloading (such as services that provide legal music and/or video downloads) can be found on EDUCAUSE page on Legal Sources for Online Content.