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Yale's Annual Copyright Disclosure
The information maintained on this page describing copyright law and campus policies is sent out as an email message in the fall as part of Yale University's annual disclosure to members of the Yale community.
Yale policies and protection of copyrighted materials
Yale University's IT Appropriate Use Policy prohibits the use of the Yale computer network to violate U.S. laws, including, but not limited to, the U.S. Copyright Act. The unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material violates the Copyright Act and may subject you to civil and criminal penalties. If you have peer-to-peer file-sharing applications installed on your computer, you may be sharing copyrighted works illegally without even realizing it.
University policy covering use of the Yale network extends to any computers you connect to the Yale network, whether at home or elsewhere off campus. If you use VPN or remote desktop connections from home, your home network becomes visible as part of the Yale network.
More information regarding file sharing and Yale's IT Appropriate Use Policy is available at Yale's File Sharing informational website: www.yale.edu/its/filesharing
Civil and criminal penalties for copyright infringement
The U.S. Copyright Act establishes a wide range of penalties for copyright infringement. 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. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys' fees. For "willful" infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. 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 at www.copyright.gov, especially their FAQ's at www.copyright.gov/help/faq.
Yale disciplinary action for copyright infringement
Any member of the Yale community who engages in illegal downloading or unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials also may be subject to discipline by the University for violating Yale's IT Appropriate Use Policy.
Yale University regularly receives infringement notices from holders of copyrights. Most of the infringement notices that the University receives are 'takedown'; notices. The University procedure for handling these notices is to forward the notice to the alleged infringers. If you are a recipient of a takedown notice, Yale requires that you certify that you have ceased any such infringing activity and that you will refrain from any such activities in the future. Also, you must sign a copy of the Yale IT Appropriate Use Policy. If you receive multiple infringement notices, you may be referred to the relevant University disciplinary committee.
If you receive a copyright infringement notice or other correspondence from the University in connection with alleged infringing activity, please read the notice carefully and comply with University requests as soon as possible. Failure to do so may result in having your network access disabled.
More information regarding Yale disciplinary action for copyright infringement and Yale's process of responding to infringement notices is available at Yale's File Sharing informational website: www.yale.edu/its/filesharing. This website also provides information regarding legal alternatives to filesharing or otherwise acquiring copyrighted material.
Yale University copyright resources
- Yale University's File Sharing FAQ
- Yale University's DMCA Notification Agent (Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
- Appropriate Use of Yale University Library's Electronic Resources
- Yale University Library Copyright
External copyright resources
- US Copyright Office
- Copyright FAQ (US Copyright Office)
- Fair Use (US Copyright Office)
