2012-13 SCC College Catalog

2012-13 SCC College Catalog

Scottsdale Community College 2012-13 Catalog

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SCOTTSDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE 2012-2013 CATALOG & STUDENT HANDBOOK STUDENT RIGHTS AND Copyright Act Compliance (AR 2.4.5) Students are expected to comply with the provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976 pertaining to photocopying of printed materials, copying of computer software and videotaping. In order to assist students in complying with the Copyright Law, appropriate notices shall be placed on or near all equipment capable of duplicating copyrighted materials. Copyright Regulation (AR 3.2) 1. It is the intent of the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District to adhere to the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code, Section 101, et seq.). Though there continues to be controversy regarding interpretation of the Copyright Law, this policy represents a sincere effort by the Board to operate legally within the District. 2. The Governing Board directs the Chancellor or his designee(s) to develop and distribute to employees guidelines that (1) clearly discourage violation of the Copyright Law and (2) inform employees of their rights and responsibilities under the Copyright Law. 3. Each college president or provost and the Chancellor shall name an individual(s) at each district location who will assume the responsibilities of distributing copyright guidelines, act as a resource person regarding copyright matter and provide training programs on current copyright laws. 4. Employees are prohibited from copying materials not specifically allowed by the (1) Copyright Law, (2) fair use guidelines, (3) licenses or contractual agreements, or (4) other permission. 5. The Governing Board disapproves of unauthorized duplication in any form. Employees who willfully disregard this Board policy and/or the aforementioned copyright guidelines do so at their own risk and assume all liability for their actions. 6. In order to assist employees and students in complying with the Copyright Law, appropriate notices shall be placed on or near all equipment capable of duplicating copyrighted materials. What Students Should Know About Copyright What is copyright? Copyright is a protection afforded under federal law for various types of creative works. A work is copyrightable if it is an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyrightable works include literary, musical or dramatic works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; choreographic works and pantomimes; sound recordings; and architectural works. The owner of a copyright in a particular work has the exclusive right to copy, display, perform, distribute, and create a derivative version of the work. Generally, then, this means that you may not do things like duplicate, show or perform a copyrighted work unless it is expressly allowed under the Copyright Act or you have the prior permission of the copyright holder. A copyright exists in a work at the time it becomes fixed in some tangible medium of expression. Neither registration of the copyright RESPONSIBILITIES with the federal government nor a copyright notice on the work itself is required for copyright protection. What is copyright infringement? Generally, copyright infringement occurs when you copy, display, perform, distribute or create a derivative version of a copyrightable work either without the permission of the copyright holder or when such activity is not otherwise allowed under an exception provided by federal copyright law. The penalties for infringement include significant damages–potentially in excess of $100,000 for each work infringed. How does copyright law affect information I obtain off the Internet? Copyright law covers works in both traditional and new media, including digital media. Copyrightable materials are often available on the Internet without any indication of their copyrighted status. As a rule of thumb, you should assume that everything you find on the Internet is copyrighted, unless otherwise labeled. Even popular activities, such as file swapping or copying software or pictures from the Internet, may be copyright infringement and should be avoided. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which Congress enacted in 2000, affords greater protection for copyright holders of digital works. Generally, then, even if a work appears solely in a digital form, it is likely subject to copyright law protections. New technology has made many creative works widely available through the Internet. For example, the technology known as Peer to Peer (P2P) allows for the transmission of music, videos, movies, software, video games and other materials–most of which is subject to copyright protection. Remember that a copyright exists in a work at the time it becomes fixed in some tangible medium of expression. That means that an image you have downloaded from the Internet, as well as a video or musical performance is almost certainly subject to copyright protection. When you download these works, transfer them to a disk or other medium, or send them to a friend, you are infringing on the rights of the copyright holder. Trafficking in such material without the permission of the copyright holder, then, violates copyright law. This includes unauthorized music file sharing over the Internet. According to a statement recently issued by representatives of the motion picture, recording and songwriting industries, uploading and downloading copyrighted works over the Internet is theft: "It is no different from walking into the campus bookstore and in a clandestine manner walking out with a textbook without paying for it." Why is it important for a student to be aware of copyright law? Copyright infringement is expressly prohibited by the U.S. Copyright Act. Anyone who infringes another's copyright in a creative work is subject to liability, and could be required to pay large sums in damages. 261 www.scottsdalecc.edu Student Rights and Responsibilities

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