Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Notices and Takedowns are the most common type of copyright infringement notices that George Mason receives. Companies such as Universal, HBO, Paramount, and the Recording Industry Association of America send these notices to the Internet Service Provider from which the file was made available (in our case, George Mason).
The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires higher education institutions, including George Mason, to inform students annually about copyright infringement and DMCA notice risks.
George Mason policy requires that consequences increase as the number of offenses increases. Copying and distributing digital forms of original work such as music, movies, instructors’ manuals, textbooks, and video games for which you do not own the copyright or have the permission of the copyright holder, may be considered both civil and criminal infringements and also may be a violation of university policy. As a civil matter, fines begin at $750 per incident and can be as high as $150,000; willful violations can result in criminal penalties, including stiff fines and imprisonment. As violation of policy, complaints submitted by copyright owners will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct or appropriate administrative department. In compliance with federal law, George Mason will also block off-campus Internet access for all devices registered to repeat offenders.
For an individual’s first alleged violation, the Libraries contact the potential infringer identified by Information Technology Services (ITS) by emailing them the first ‘Stop It’ letter, customized for the specific situation. The potential infringer is required to remove the stated material and any peer-to-peer file sharing software used for this purpose from their computer. Once the potential infringer has been notified and verifies receipt of the Libraries’ email, the Libraries give them seven business days to remove the stated material and any peer-to-peer file sharing software used for this purpose from their computer.
If the Notice is valid, and if this is the second or third potential violation, the Libraries will contact ITS, to send a ticket that includes the Stop It Letter to the individual, making them aware that this is an additional instance of potentially illegal infringing activity on their George Mason account. The potential infringer is required to remove the stated material and any peer-to-peer file sharing software used for this purpose from their computer and confirm that this has been done by a specified date with formal notification to ITS and the Libraries. They are also provided with information about alternative, legal sources of in-copyright content.
If the Notice is valid, and this is the fourth or more potential violation by this individual that has gone through the ‘Stop It’ Workflow, the Libraries may refer the case to the Office of Student Conduct for students or to Human Resources for employees.
If the potential infringer does not comply with the second or subsequent ‘Stop It’ Letters by the prescribed time, ITS will modify the individual’s access to the George Mason network until such time when the ‘Stop It’ requirements are fulfilled.
In response to a ‘Stop It’ letter, the potential infringer may submit a counter-notice that may include a request to reinstate the material if they believe the removal was due to a mistake or misidentification. Following receipt of a compliant counter-notice, George Mason must restore access to the material after no less than 10 and no more than 14 business days, unless the person who send the original take down notice informs George Mason that it has filed a court action against the potential infringer.
Copyright infringement may lead to serious legal and financial consequences. For your own protection, it is important that you take the DMCA notice, legal, and technical information that we provide seriously.
Additional Resources
For full details about the DMCA, see Digital Millennium Copyright Act from the EDUCAUSE Library.
Remove File Sharing Software
If you have received a DMCA notice and need to remove file-sharing software from your computer, use the instructions for your operating system.