Downloading and/or Sharing Copyrighted Materials Letter

December 19, 2006

 

TO:	University faculty and staff with supervisory responsibility
FR:	Carol Carrier, Vice President for Human Resources
	Steve Cawley, Vice President & Chief Information Officer
RE:	Downloading and/or sharing of copyrighted materials

As an academic institution, many University employees regularly use copyrighted materials for work-related purposes. It is important that University faculty and supervisors understand how to properly use these legally protected materials.

Copyright laws and permissions can be complicated. There are "fair use" rules that allow limited exceptions to copyright restrictions when materials are used for academic purposes. When fair use rules do not apply, however, University employees must obtain permission to use copyrighted materials. As digital media become more popular, we would like to remind members of the University community that downloading and/or sharing copyrighted materials such as music and movies can become a legal issue for users.

The University Libraries Copyright Information and Education Web site is dedicated to helping faculty and staff understand the complexities of copyright law. Please visit the site at http://www.lib.umn.edu/copyright/ to familiarize yourself with the basics of copyright laws and permissions. If you know you need a permission to use copyrighted materials for your work, the University's Copyright Permissions Center (http://www.copyright.umn.edu/) is available to help you through that process.

Please make these resources available to all employees in your department or college, and communicate that illegal downloading or sharing of copyrighted materials on University equipment is unacceptable and may be subject to disciplinary actions. You can consult with your human resources professional regarding appropriate disciplinary actions.

If you would like more information on this issue, including peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing, please see: http://www.umn.edu/oit/P2P-staff/.

Thank you for your assistance.