Copyright infringement: New procedures for cease-and-desist notices

Friday, October 14, 2011

Illegal downloading of music, movies, and other materials is still a problem at UW-Madison. During the school year, the University sends cease-and-desist notices to more than 150 students every month.

Copyright infringementTo ensure that its response to copyright infringement is consistent campuswide, the University has updated its procedures for notifying people who may be downloading illegally. The consequences for copyright infringement escalate through three levels with multiple occurrences. At first, the person receives the cease-and-desist notice and information on compliance. What follows can include:

  • loss of network access
  • scanning for malware and file-sharing applications
  • review of a tutorial and completion of a copyright awareness quiz
  • referral to an appropriate University official, such as the Dean of Students, for investigation.

See the new procedures for cease-and-desist notices:

These are the procedures for the handling reported copyright infringement on the University of Wisconsin-Madison network. These procedures support the University Responsible Use policy.

Copyright cease and desist notices received by the Office of Campus Information Security (OCIS) regarding alleged activity on the University network will be processed as described below. The procedures include escalating consequences for multiple instances of infringement traced back to an individual.

Upon the receipt of a valid copyright cease and desist notice, OCIS will try to locate the person who may be involved with the activity. In addition, OCIS will review the number of past infringement notices received for the individual and apply the below:

First alleged infringement

The cease and desist notice as received by OCIS will be forwarded to the individual for action. OCIS will also include information on our procedure as well as references to some useful resources.

Second alleged infringement

The cease and desist notice as received by OCIS will be forwarded to the individual for action. In addition, the individual's University WiscWireless and ResNet network access will be removed. The individual can have their network access restored by completing both the following:

  • The device, e.g. laptop, etc, associated with the cease and desist notice will need to be taken to a repair service to have it scanned for malware as well as file sharing applications. The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) walk-in Help Desk offers this as free service, or the individual can seek another service. If another service is obtained, the receipt or proof of service will need to be provided to the DoIT Help Desk.
  • The individual will need to review a copyright tutorial and successfully complete an online copyright awareness quiz. OCIS will enroll the individual in the "UW-Madison Copyright Tutorial" within Learn@UW which can be accessed through the My UW-Madison web portal.

Third alleged infringement

The cease and desist notice as received by OCIS will be forwarded to the individual for action. In addition, the individual's University WiscWireless and ResNet network access will be removed. OCIS will prepare a report of the alleged infringement as well as past occurrences for the appropriate University official, e.g. Dean of Students, Human Resources, etc, for investigation. Network access will be restored upon notification from the University official.

For more information on copyright, see the University policy on copyright infringement.

* Questions about the procedure can be forwarded to OCIS by opening a WiscIT call to the DoIT Help Desk.