Plan to effectively discourage electronic copyright violations at WSU

The Higher Education Opportunity Act and Illegal Filesharing

This law imposes new regulations on universities regarding how they deal with illegal filesharing of copyrighted material such as music and movies over their networks. Wayne State must follow these regulations, and this page outlines how it is doing so.

The rules require that Wayne State University:

1. "Have developed and implemented written plans to effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material by users of the institution's network, without unduly interfering with educational and research use of the network, that include
   1. The use of one or more technology-based deterrents;
   2. Mechanisms for educating and informing its community about appropriate versus inappropriate use of copyrighted material, including that described in §668.43(a)(10);
   3. Procedures for handling unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including disciplinary procedures; and
   4.  Procedures for periodically reviewing the effectiveness of the plans to combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials by users of the institution's network using relevant assessment criteria. No particular technology measures are favored or required for inclusion in an institution's plans, and each institution retains the authority to determine what its particular plans for compliance with paragraph (b)(30) of this section will be, including those that prohibit content monitoring; and
2. Will, in consultation with the chief technology officer or other designated officer of the institution
   1. Periodically review the legal alternatives for downloading or otherwise acquiring copyrighted material;
   2. Make available the results of the review in paragraph (b)(30)(ii)(A) of this section to its students through a website or other means; and
   3. To the extent practicable, offer legal alternatives for downloading or otherwise acquiring copyrighted material, as determined by the institution"

The official text of these regulations, which is directly quoted in 1 and 2) above, can be found in  Department of Education Rules and Regulation.

This page constitutes the plan that Wayne State University has developed to comply with this law and attendant regulations.

Wayne State will continue to meet Requirement 1a) by investigating every DMCA complaint received from a lawful copyright owner in accordance with established procedures.

Wayne State will meet  Requirement 1b) by sending an e-mail to every student every year outlining what is required by copyright law and the acceptable use policy, which forbids the violation of copyright using Wayne State University electronic resources.

Requirement 1c) is met by procedures established by C&IT's Identity and Security Management Division, in cooperation with the Dean of Student's Office, which responds systematically to all notices received from copyright owners.  Violators are referred to the Dean of Students' office and, in the case of residence halls, the residence hall management office.

Requirement 1d) will be met by a yearly re-evaluation of these procedures by the CIO and his staff.

Requirement 2) will be met by referring all Wayne State University faculty, staff and students to the website maintained by EDUCAUSE , the national educational computing organization, for the purpose of documenting existing alternatives for the legal downloading of copyrighted materials.