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UB Information Technology

2012-2013 Copyright Awareness Campaign

For the 2012-2013 academic year, the Computer Discipline Officer worked with IT Policy and Communications to develop a campaign to educate the UB community about file sharing and copyright law. The effort was part of UB's ongoing compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act.

Required Materials and Notices

  1. Websites for legal alternatives
  2. Annual disclosure to students
    • Required to send out letter annually
    • Send out email letter each spring and fall semester
    • Letter in Appendix A
  3. Plans to "effectively combat" copyright abuse on the campus network
    • UB uses bandwidth shaping to manage network traffic, per http://itpolicies.buffalo.edu/dmca: “The University at Buffalo employs bandwidth shaping to manage network traffic. This impacts the file sharing of copyrighted material on UB's network by limiting outgoing traffic. UB uses hardware and rules to limit various Peer-to-Peer protocols on our Internet link.”
  4. Review and update the plan annually

Communication Plan

  1. Annual email HEOA copyright notification letter (Appendix A)
    • Send letter out to campus community (students, faculty and staff) through email distribution list
    • Send letter at least once a semester (required to send letter annually)
  2. Orientation  presentation
    • Provide information to student orientation 2013
  3. National Cyber Security Awareness Month Slide on Campus Cable (Appendix B)
    • Slide on Campus Cable during October 2012
  4. Student Survey
    • Survey students awareness of copyright
  5. Digital Copyright Compliance webpages under Safe Computing IT website: www.buffalo.edu/ubit/service-guides/safe-computing/dmca.html
  6. HEOA Compliance webpage on new IT website: www.buffalo.edu/ubit/service-guides/safe-computing/ub-compliance-with-heoa
  7. “Keep it Legal” Campaign 2012-2013
    • Slogan: "How much would you pay to see a movie?"
    • Residence Hall Staff provided copyright awareness information kit (Appendix D)
    • October Media push
  8. Review and Update Annually

Review / Report of DMCA Awareness

  1. Review Annually DMCA / Copyright issues
  2. Review Annually DMCA Process
  3. Review Survey results
  4. Yearly report of DMCA
  5. Update process / documentation
  6. Propose any changes additions for coming year

Appendices

Appendix A: Copyright Campus Letter

From: Tom Furlani, Chief Information Officer [mailto:it-announcements@BUFFALO.EDU]
To: UB@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
Subject: Copyright: Higher Education Opportunity Act 4137 Notification
 
Dear UB Community,
 
The purpose of this communication is to remind our campus community about the importance of abiding by federal regulation when using copyrighted information. Sharing of copyrighted materials (including music, movies, and software) is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Using the UB network  or illegal downloading or sharing of copyright protected materials is in direct violation of both the UB Information Technology Policy (http://itpolicies.buffalo.edu) and the DMCA.
 
The Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137) requires the University to  inform the UB community of the consequences of using UB's network for  unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material(s). Those who have violated copyright law are required to complete a comprehensive online copyright course.  Subsequent violations may involve disciplinary action.
 
To protect yourself and our university from violating UB Information Technology policy and federal law, please only download material from legitimate media sites that have legal agreements to sell music, software and movies. A list of legal alternatives is available at http://www.educause.edu/legalcontent
 
For more information regarding copyright policy, please refer to the following sites:
     UB IT Policies:http://itpolicies.buffalo.edu/dmca/
     US Copyright Law: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/
     US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA):http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf
     Legal Alternatives: http://www.educause.edu/legalcontent
 
Thank you for your adherence to UB Information Technology policy and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
 
Sincerely,
      Thomas R Furlani
      Chief Information Officer
      University at Buffalo

Appendix B: Campus Cable Advertisement

Campus cable advertisement

Appendix C: Campus Bus Advertisement

Ad that appeared in buses at UB. It reads, "How much would you pay to see a movie?"

This 48"-wide poster appeared inside 28 campus buses in October of 2012.

Appendix D: Residence Hall Staff Copyright Awareness Information Kit

Poster included with Information Kit

Click to see a larger image

Activities and information in Information Kit

Click to see a larger image

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