The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 208 (HEOA) requires institutions to combat unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials through illegal downloading or peer-to-peer distribution of intellectual property by users of the institutions networks.

Missouri State University has developed and implemented the following Plan for Combating Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Materials (the “Plan”) as follows:

• Missouri State University has a policy for Use of Copyrighted Materials for Educational and Research Purposes. The University regards violation of its policy as a serious matter. Any such violation is without its consent and is subject to appropriate disciplinary action or sanction ranging from loss of access to the relevant University services or property (including computing privileges) to dismissal or removal from the University as determined by applicable employment or student disciplinary policies. The entire policy can be found at http://www.missouristate.edu/provost/copyrightpolicy.htm.
• Several technology-based deterrents are employed by the Computer Services department to combat copyright abuse, including:
  • Bandwidth restrictions to the residence halls combined with enforced download quotas.
  • Network traffic monitoring to identify individual computers using excessive network resources.
  • Immediate responses to Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices
• Missouri State University’s Computer Services Department will continue to educate and inform the university community about appropriate versus inappropriate uses of copyrighted material by providing information (including this Plan) on the university website. In addition, the Chief Information Officer or designee will periodically review the Plan to determine the effectiveness of the Plan as well as the legal alternatives for downloading or otherwise acquiring copyrighted material and revise this Plan when necessary.
• Annually, Missouri State University issues a notice to all students and employees stating the University’s position on unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material. The statement is as follows:

  “Missouri State University prohibits the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials, including the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. (See http://www.missouristate.edu/provost/copyrightpolicy.htm). Members of the University community who use these networks to share copyrighted media files will have network access suspended until an agreement to no longer share material is made. Subsequent unauthorized sharing by students will result in disciplinary action through the Office of Student Conduct. University employee actions are presented in the Faculty and Staff Handbooks. In addition, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject a student or employee to civil and criminal liabilities summarized below:

  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 attorney’s 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.”

• Missouri State University encourages the use of legal alternatives to illegal downloading. Educause, a non-profit association that promotes the use of information technology in higher education, maintains a list of legal sources of online content at http://www.educause.edu/legalcontent.