The UTHSC-H recognizes its legal and moral responsibility to protect the interests of the owners of copyright in software that is not in the public domain. The UTHSC-H therefore requires its employees to comply fully with current copyright laws pertaining to computer software stated in Title 17 of the United States Code. Any use of UTHSC-H computers and/or computer peripherals by students, faculty, or staff for unauthorized duplication of copyrighted works is subject to appropriate disciplinary action as well as those civil remedies and criminal penalties provided by federal law.
There are three categories of software that are permitted on the personal computer of a UTHSC-H employee:
Any UTHSC-H employee who uses copyrighted software should understand copyright laws as well as the UTHSC-H policy of mandated adherence to these laws. Software in the public domain does not specifically require a user to have proof of the right to possess a copy. In the case of copyrighted software, however, the copyright owner has the exclusive rights to reproduce the work, make new versions of the software from it, and distribute copies of it by sale or otherwise. These rights are protected under copyright law, and stiff penalties exist for violations. Copying or reproducing copyrighted software should be in accordance with copyright law or with the terms of the license agreement that accompanies the software.
A UTHSC-H employee who infringes the rights of others may be sued by the copyright owner for damages, or may be prosecuted for criminal violations, or both. The UTHSC-H may also be subject to suit and liability the same as individuals who infringe. An employee who willfully and knowingly infringes a software copyright and in doing so exposes the UTHSC-H to the possibility of legal action should not assume that the State of Texas will provide his or her legal defense.
The exclusive rights of copyright owners are limited under some circumstances. An employee licensed to use copyrighted software may, for example, make a back-up copy of the application for use in the event that the original is destroyed as a result of computer system failure; often, a back-up copy is automatically made by the computer as part of standard system operation. A copy of the software may also be made if it is necessary to use the copy in conjunction with certain equipment. If the software is sold or otherwise transferred to another owner, however, the copy must be destroyed.
Copying software that is licensed to the UTHSC-H to do UTHSC-H work on a personal home computer is not permitted, unless expressly authorized in the license agreement.
An employee may not copy onto his or her computer hard drive any software that is on a UTHSC-H system or network unless the software licensing agreement includes the right to copy the software onto all hard drives that use the system or network as a precaution against system failure. Also, an employee may not copy onto a network a program that is licensed to a single central processing unit.
Notices reflecting the UTHSC-H's policy on copyrighted software shall be posted at all or near all computer stations that may be used for reproducing copyrighted software.
It is the responsibility of department managers to ensure that employees understand and comply with this policy. Managers should notify employees who violate software copyright law by a written reprimand on the first offense and may administer disciplinary action on the second offense.
Updated 3/98
| HOOP Home Page | Chapter Seventeen Table of Contents |