Copyright & Intellectual Property: Website

The images and text posted on the Internet are covered by copyright restrictions. The copyright statement can be found at the bottom of the web page. If there is no copyright notice, it is still automatically covered for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Copyright is international. The U.S. is signatory on the Berne Convention which binds U.S. citizens to copyright compliance on items posted in other countries Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. If a particular use does not qualify as Fair Use, permission to use the work must be obtained from the copyright owner. Seeking permission is not necessary when sharing the contents of a free website by providing URL links.

The Web has spawned an alternative to copyright, sometimes called copyleft. At Creative Commons, web authors let people know the level of sharing they will allow. It supersedes copyright laws. The website of Creative Commons is also a good place to find web content that is free to use. 

Repeat offenders of illegally downloading copyrighted music and movies risk large fines, library account termination, or expulsion from the university.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides a limitation of liability for online service providers when their server stores and delivers items from third parties that are not in copyright compliance. This is clarified in § 512. Limitations on liability relating to material online.

Any concerns on the contents provided by SUA should be directed to the Copyright Compliance Agent on campus: Director of Information Technology. He is the designated Copyright Compliance Agent to be contacted by copyright holders about infringements. This person is registered as the university’s agent at the Copyright Office and listed in the directory included in “Service Provider Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claims of Infringement”.

SUA conforms to industry standards in the technological protection of digital information.