Saturday, August 11, 2007

Higher ed institutions copyright policy requirement introduced in draft legislation amending Title 20

Copyright policy requirement introduced in draft legislation amending Title 20
Bill summary via THOMAS, passed in Senate 7/24/07, received in House 7/26/07

The extension of the Higher Education Act of 1965 includes proposed changes to section 1092, Institutional and financial assistance information for students (this is a link to the text as it reads now). Adds a new requirement that institutions include copyright policies in the information disseminated annually to students. The text of the proposed addition:
`(P) institutional policies and sanctions related to copyright infringement, including--

`(i) an annual disclosure that explicitly informs students that unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject the students to civil and criminal liabilities;

`(ii) a summary of the penalties for violation of Federal copyright laws;

`(iii) a description of the institution's policies with respect to unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, including disciplinary actions that are taken against students who engage in unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials using the institution's information technology system; and

`(iv) a description of actions that the institution takes to prevent and detect unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material on the institution's information technology system;'

[updated 8/11/07 5:43pmCT to correct House/Senate action dates]