CMCC HEOA Compliance Plan
Central Maine Community College has a plan in place to comply with the HEOA regulations regarding Copyright and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) infringement when downloading and uploading of copyrighted material. The plan outlines the measures to which the College will go to insure that members of the CM community use Intellectual Property in an ethical and legal manner.
Federal Penalites
As part of the College's requirement for complying with the new HEOA P2P regulations, the College must post in a public place the federal penalties if a member of the College community is found infringing. The penalty statement follows:
Federal Penalties U. S. Department of Education's Summary of Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal Copyright Laws
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. For "willful" infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys' fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505. 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. (This summary is located at Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP))
List of Alternatives to Illegal Downloading of Copyrighted Material
The downloading and uploading of copyrighted works without the permission of the copyright owner is a violation of U. S. Federal law. It is also in violation of the Maine Community College System and Central Maine Community College's Copyright policy.
Legal alternatives maintained by Educause Legal Sources of Online Content
