COPYRIGHT POLICY EXCERPTS

Below are excerpts from the Business Software Alliance for you to review to insure that all staff fully understand the ramifications of installing illegal, unapproved and\or unlicensed software on school computers. 
There are several reasons staff should have approval from their Technology Department to install software on school computers.  These include:
  • Risk of computer virus infection
  • Legal and financial liability to the teacher and the school
  • Lack of standardization in the organization making it very difficult to support and interoperate
To help us understand why we should all be concerned, please take a minute to read the following passages from the Business Software Alliance The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world.
  • Under law, a company can be held liable for its employees’ actions. If an employee is installing unauthorized software copies on company computers or acquiring illegal software through the Internet, the company can be sued for copyright infringement. This is true even if the company’s management was unaware of the employee’s actions.
  • Quite simply, to make or download unauthorized copies of software is to break the law, no matter how many copies are involved. Whether you are casually making a few copies for friends, loaning disks, distributing and/or downloading pirated software via the Internet, or buying a single software program and then installing it on 100 of your company’s personal computers, you are committing a copyright infringement. It doesn’t matter if you are doing it to make money or not — if you or your company is caught copying software, you may be held liable under both civil and criminal law.
  • If the copyright owner brings a civil action against you, the owner can seek to stop you from using its software immediately and can also request monetary damages. The copyright owner may then choose between actual damages, which include the amount it has lost because of your infringement as well as any profits attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages, which can be as much as $150,000 for each program copied. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, you can be fined up to $250,000, or sentenced to jail for up to five years, or both.
Quite simply, to make or download unauthorized copies of software is to break the law, no matter how many copies are involved. Whether you are casually making a few copies for friends, loaning disks, distributing and/or downloading pirated software via the Internet, or buying a single software program and then installing it on 100 of your company’s personal computers, you are committing a copyright infringement. It doesn’t matter if you are doing it to make money or not — if you or your company is caught copying software, you may be held liable under both civil and criminal law.
When you purchase software, you do not become the owner of the copyright. Rather, you are purchasing the right to use the software under certain restrictions imposed by the copyright owner, typically the software publisher. The precise rules are described in the documentation accompanying the software -- the license. It is imperative that you understand and adhere to these rules. Most often, they state that you have the right to load the software onto a single computer and make one backup copy. If you copy, distribute or install the software in ways that the license prohibits, whether you are swapping disks with friends and coworkers or participating in widespread duplication, you are violating federal copyright law. Even if you only help someone else make unauthorized copies, you are still liable under the copyright law.
Types of Piracy
There are five common types of software piracy. Understanding each will help users avoid problems associated with illegal software.
End User Piracy:  This occurs when a company employee reproduces copies of software without authorization. End user piracy can take the following forms:
  • Using one licensed copy to install a program on multiple computers;
  • Copying disks for installation and distribution;
  • Taking advantage of upgrade offers without having a legal copy of the version to be upgraded;
  • Acquiring academic or other restricted or non-retail software without a license for commercial use;
  • Swapping disks in or outside the workplace.
Client-Server Overuse:
This type of piracy occurs when too many employees on a network are using a central copy of a program at the same time. If you have a local-area network and install programs on the server for several people to use, you have to be sure your license entitles you to do so. If you have more users than allowed by the license, that’s “overuse”.

Internet Piracy:
This occurs when software is downloaded from the Internet The same purchasing rules should apply to online software purchase as for those bought in traditional ways. Internet piracy can take the following forms:
  • Pirate websites that make software available for free download or in exchange for uploaded programs;
  • Internet auction sites that offer counterfeit, out-of-channel, infringing copyright software;
  • Peer-to-Peer networks that enable unauthorized transfer of copyrighted programs.

 
Hard-Disk Loading:
This occurs when a business who sells new computers loads illegal copies of software onto the hard disks to make the purchase of the machines more attractive. The same concerns and issues apply to Value Added Resellers (VAR) that sell or install new software onto computers in the workplace.
Software Counterfeiting:
This type of piracy is the illegal duplication and sale of copyrighted material with the intent of directly imitating the copyrighted product. In the case of packaged software, it is common to find counterfeit copies of the CDs or diskettes incorporating the software programs, as well as related packaging, manuals, license agreements, labels, registration cards and security features.
The Tri-County Interlocal 607 Technology department would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our company policy regarding software installation.

Excerpt from Tri-County Interlocal 607 Copyright Policy  

ECH-R In accordance with school board policy ECH, the following regulations will be observed to comply with the copyright laws of the United States .

 

ECH-R-4 Computer Software

District employees may make a back-up copy of computer programs as permitted by current Federal Law.

Back-up copies may be used for archival purposes only and all archival copies shall be destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful.

When software is used on a disk-sharing system, efforts shall be made to secure this software from copying. Illegal copies of copyrighted programs shall not be made or used on school equipment.

IIBG   Software acquired by staff using either district or personal funds and installed on district computers, must comply with copyright laws. Proof of purchase (copy or original) must be filed in the district office.

Approved by Tri-County Interlocal Board of Education: 9-9-02

Policies and Procedures for Copyright Activity, Computer/  
Software Usage, and Internet Usage for Tri-County Personnel  
And Special Education Students  
Employees of Tri-County Special Education Interlocal No. 607 will adhere to the respective district policies and procedures governing Copyright activity, Computer/Software usage, and internet usage within the respective school district they are assigned. This includes, but is not limited to, those policies and procedures set forth in the district’s Technology Plan that apply to acceptable usage, internet access, and installation of computer hardware/software.
Tri-County employees who are assigned to separate, non-district facilities or alternative programs, will be required to adhere to those policies and procedures governing Copyright activity, Computer/Software usage, and Internet usage which have been approved by the Tri-County Board of Education. This includes but is not limited to, those policies and procedures set forth in Tri-County’s Technology Plan that apply to acceptable usage, internet access, and installation of computer hardware/software.
Students served by Tri-County Special Education Cooperative Interlocal No. 607 and who are enrolled in one of the cooperating district’s attendance centers will adhere to the policies and procedures governing Copyright activity, Computer/Software usage and Internet usage prescribed for students under their respective district’s policies and/or Technology Plan and which are set forth in their respective attendance center’s student handbook.
Students enrolled in one of the alternative programs or separate, non-district facilities which are operated or utilized by Tri-County Special Education Cooperative Interlocal No. 607 for the provision of special education or other educational service support will adhere to the policies and procedures governing Copyright activity, Computer/Software usage and Internet usage prescribed for students under Tri-County’s Board Policies and/or  Technology Plan and which are set forth in their respective attendance center’s/program’s student handbook.

                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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