Copyright and Fair Use

Policy Number: 8.2.53
Effective Date: October 11, 2023
Revision History: May 26, 2016
Policy Contact: Vice President for Information Technology

I. Purpose and Policy Statement

Georgia Gwinnett College is committed to respecting the rights of copyright holders and complying with copyright law. GGC adheres to the University System of Georgia (“USG”) Copyright Policy. In accordance with copyright law and USG policies, copying or use of copyrighted material not specifically permitted or exempted by law is prohibited. Faculty, staff, and students should consult the USG policy and resource pages for more information on copyrighted works and fair use. Violations of this policy will be handled as addressed below.

II. Scope

This policy applies to all GGC faculty, staff, students, and guests using the GGC network.

III. Procedures for Handling Copyright Complaints

1. GGC generally receives copyright complaints through the University System of Georgia.  Using the information from the complaint received, Information Technology (“IT”) will use available tools and data to identify the account associated with the complaint. Once a potential user has been identified, the next steps depend on the role and status of the user.
2. Policy Violations by Students
   1. IT will forward any complaints and supporting documentation, where applicable, to the Office of Student Integrity for investigative review. Upon receipt, the Office of Student Integrity will arrange a meeting with the student and allow the student to view the complaint and respond to the alleged violation. Any student who is found to be in violation of campus copyright policies may be subject to disciplinary action through the Office of Student Integrity and/or administrative action through the Office of the Provost.
   2. Based on the type of violation, severity of the violation, or prior history of violations, the Office of Student Integrity may take any of the appropriate disciplinary actions below:
      1. Issue a Written Warning and/or Reprimand: The student may be given a written or verbal warning to change/modify the behavior reported in the complaint.
      2. Completion of Research Paper and/or Educational Campaign: The student may be required to complete a research paper on copyright infringement and/or file sharing. Student may also be required to create an educational campaign for the College that increases awareness of copyright infringement.
      3. Verbal and/or Written Counseling Session: Counsel the student on their obligations to follow acceptable use and inform them of the requirement to remove the copyrighted material from their system before accessing the network again.
      4. Temporary Loss of Network Access: The College may temporarily prohibit the student access to the College network.
      5. Probationary Period: Student may be placed on a temporary probation for a specified amount of time. Any violations of the policy during the probation period may result in further disciplinary actions, including but not limited to permanent loss of network access.
   3. The Office of Student Integrity will notify IT once the investigation is completed and the case is closed. Students must immediately remove the copyrighted material from their system before accessing the network again.
   4. The College reserves the right to immediately suspend a user’s network access at any time prior to the investigation and/or implementation of disciplinary actions if a determination is made that immediate suspension is appropriate. This determination is made by the College in its sole discretion.
3. Policy Violations by Faculty or Staff
   1. IT will identify the employee responsible for a copyright violation. The copyright violation information and employee information will be passed to the Office of Human Resources for further action.
   2. Any communications with a faculty or staff member reported to be in violation of this policy shall be forwarded to:
      1. The user’s immediate supervisor;
      2. The Vice President or Dean of the user’s department;
      3. The Vice President for Information Technology/Chief Information Technology Officer; and/or
      4. The Vice President for Human Resources.
   3. Any complaints or reported violations received more than 48 hours after a faculty or staff member is notified of their initial offense may be considered a second offense and the faculty or staff member’s Media Access Control (“MAC”) address may be blocked from the network, without any additional notification requirement to the faculty or staff member. Network access may be restored only at the direction of the Vice President for Information Technology/Chief Information Technology Officer or another designated senior campus official.
   4. Faculty and staff members must immediately remove the copyrighted material from their system before accessing the network again.
   5. Implementation of any disciplinary actions may be imposed by the College at any time.
4. Policy Violations by Guest Users
   1. Guest users will be blocked from the network by their MAC address. If a student, faculty or staff member comes forward as the owner of that system, the complaint will be handled using the procedures outlined above.
5. Due to the changing nature of the electronic environment, any aspect of this policy may be modified, including but not limited to, the disciplinary actions outlined, in order to maintain the appropriate operating environment for continued electronic access for the overall campus community. 

IV. Related Regulations, Statutes, Policies, and Procedures

University System of Georgia Copyright Policy