Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Policy

Marietta College maintains a campus network to support and enhance the academic and administrative needs of our students, faculty, staff and other campus users. The college is required by Federal Law – H.R. 4137, Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) – to make an annual disclosure informing students that illegal distribution of copyrighted materials may lead to civil and/or criminal penalties. Also, the HEOA requires institutions to take steps to detect and punish users who illegally distribute copyrighted materials. The College must certify to the Secretary of Education that a policy is in place. Finally, the HEOA requires the College to provide alternatives to illegal file sharing. All users are encouraged to check the list of “Alternatives to Illegal Downloading” that may be reviewed at: www.marietta.edu/technology/Alternatives-to-P2P.

Although the HEOA makes reference only to students using Peer-to-Peer, this policy applies to all Marietta College network users. The College reserves the right to suspend or terminate network access to any campus user if the violation is deemed severe. Likewise, network access may be suspended if any use is impacting the operations of the network. Violations may be reported to appropriate authorities for criminal or civil prosecution.

First Violation

The first time a report of distributing or downloading copyrighted files is received, the person who was using the computer at the given time is notified by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the violation via an email sent to their campus email address. The user must respond to the CIO within two business days.

If the user does not respond within two business days and/or if the user continues unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, the user’s network access is suspended (the user’s network connection is disabled) immediately and will remain suspended until the situation is resolved. E-mail and other accounts are not disabled. In addition, the CIO will notify the Office of Community Standards, Rights, and Responsibilities (for students) or the supervisor and area Cabinet member (for employees) of the violation notice and user non-response.

The user is required to submit a signed Technology Copyright Violation-Certification Page that states that the user understands copyright issues and the ramifications of a subsequent offense or to demonstrate that the notification was unwarranted. Network access will be restored no sooner than two business days after receipt of the signed certification page. Users who receive notifications of copyright violations are strongly encouraged to review the educational materials located at the campus web-site: http://www.marietta.edu/technology/copyright.

If the user feels the notification is erroneous, he/she must show evidence to the CIO that the file(s) was used legally or was not copyrighted. Notifications of all violations will be maintained by Information Technology. Records of unwarranted notification will also be retained for archival purposes.

Second and Subsequent Violations

If a second or subsequent notification of violation is received, network access shall be suspended immediately. The user is again informed of the violation by email from the CIO. The user is required to respond to the notification within two business days by contacting the CIO. If the CIO determines that the notification is warranted, the CIO also files a formal complaint to the Office of Community Standards, Rights, and Responsibilities (for students) or the Director of Human Resources (for employees). Human Resources will notify the appropriate supervisor and Cabinet officer of the violation. Network access is not restored, if at all, until the case is reviewed and decided by the appropriate Cabinet officer, supervisor and Director of Human Resources (in the case of employees) or the Office of Community Standards, Rights and Responsibilities (in the case of students). The Office of Community Standards, Rights, and Responsibilities or the Cabinet officer and supervisor can impose whatever sanctions – including termination of network access; educational sanction, probation, suspension, expulsion (for students); or disciplinary action (for faculty and staff) – as deemed appropriate.

The existence and imposition of Marietta College sanctions do not protect members of the campus community from any legal action by external entities or the college itself.

Go to http://help.marietta.edu/alternatives_to_p2p for a list of sites that offer free or inexpensive products that you can use without violating copyright law.