Copyright infringement incident resolution

While Indiana University does not actively search for instances of copyrighted infringement, we do respond to complaints of illegal activity or inappropriate use taking place on the IU network. Copyright owners and their representatives do actively search for copyright infringements of their works and send Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) take-down notices to Indiana University.

All individuals implicated by a copyright infringement notice are required to complete a copyright tutorial and pass a short 10-question quiz. The tutorial provides instructions on how to resolve the incident and provides Indiana University documentation that we forwarded the complaint to the user and attempted to educate him or her in the basics of copyright law. Completing the tutorial does not imply guilt and provides an opportunity to contest the notice if the individual believes a mistake has been made.

Indiana University's procedure in response to copyright notices, and user consequences of these actions, are outlined below.

If this is your first copyright violation notice:

• You are sent a "First Offense" email, including a copy of the complaint from the copyright holder and are required to complete the tutorial and quiz.
• If you are a student, a $50 cost-recovery fine is applied to your Bursar account.
• If you are an IU Bloomington student:
  • You must complete the File Sharing seminar provided by Student Ethics. There is a separate $50 fine for the seminar.
  • Your ability to connect a personal computer to the IU network is blocked.
  • You are given two weeks to take the tutorial and pass the quiz. If you have not passed the quiz at the end of two weeks the incident is referred to the Office of the Dean of Students.
• For students on other campuses, staff, faculty and affiliates:
  • You are given 36 hours to complete the tutorial and quiz before network access is blocked.
  • You are given two weeks to take the tutorial and pass the quiz. If you have not passed the quiz at the end of two weeks the incident is referred to the appropriate disciplinary office. For students, this is the Office of the Dean of Students; for staff, this is a department head and Human Resources; for faculty, this is a department chair and the Dean of Faculties; for affiliates, this is the sponsor of your account.
• For faculty and staff, a notification will be sent to your immediate supervisor or department chair.
• Access to the IU network, once blocked, cannot be re-enabled until you pass the quiz (and seminar if applicable). The quiz may be attempted multiple times in order to pass.
• If you believe a mistake has been made in identifying your IP address or the material listed in the notice, you will find directions on how to file a "counter-notice" within the tutorial.

If this is your second copyright violation notice:

• You are sent a "Second Offense" email, including a copy of the complaint from the copyright holder, and are required to complete the tutorial and quiz.
• If you are a student, a $75 cost-recovery fine is applied to your Bursar account.
• Your ability to attach a personal computer to the IU network is immediately blocked, and it will remain blocked for at least two weeks.
• You will be unable to register additional computers or devices on the IU network for at least two weeks.
• You are referred to the appropriate disciplinary office. For students, this is the Office of the Dean of Students; for staff, this is a department head and Human Resources; for faculty, this is a department chair and the Dean of Faculties; for affiliates, this is the sponsor of your account.
• For faculty and staff, a notification will be sent to your immediate supervisor or department chair.
• Access to the IU network, once blocked, cannot be re-enabled until two weeks have passed, you have passed the quiz, and completed the seminar if applicable. The quiz may be attempted multiple times in order to pass.
• IU Bloomington students must complete the File Sharing seminar provided by Student Ethics. There is a separate $50 fine for the seminar.
• If you believe a mistake has been made in identifying your IP address or the material listed in the notice, you will find directions on how to file a "counter-notice" within the tutorial.

Take the Quiz Now

If this is your third copyright violation notice:

• You are sent a "Third Offense" email, including a copy of the complaint from the copyright holder.
• If you are a student, a $100 cost-recovery fine is applied to your Bursar account.
• Your ability to connect personal computing devices to the IU network is blocked permanently, for the duration of your affiliation with IU. This will likely affect any current or future employment at IU that requires access to IU IT resources.
• You are no longer allowed to register any computer or device on the IU network.
• You will lose access to the IU Secure wireless network and IU VPN.
• You are referred to the appropriate disciplinary office. For students, this is the Office of the Dean of Students; for staff, this is a department head and Human Resources; for faculty, this is a department chair and the Dean of Faculties; for affiliates, this is the sponsor of your account.
• For faculty and staff, a notification will be sent to your immediate supervisor or department chair.
• IU Bloomington students must complete the File Sharing seminar provided by Student Ethics. There is a separate $50 fine for the seminar.
• A notification will be sent to your immediate supervisor for all faculty and staff members.
• If you believe a mistake has been made in identifying your IP address or the material listed in the notice, you will find directions on how to file a "counter-notice" within the tutorial.

What if I want to contest the copyright violation notice?

NOTE: It's important to realize that contesting a notice should not be taken lightly. If we find during the course of our investigation that you misrepresented yourself when contesting, the incident will be immediately referred to the appropriate disciplinary office.

If you still wish to contest the notice, please read our instructions for filing a counter notice.

Full-time employees who have received three DMCA offenses are eligible to apply for reinstatement to the IU network if they meet ALL the following criteria:

1. At least one calendar year has passed from the date of the third offense
2. The employee satisfactorily completes their probationary period (if applicable).
3. The employee is otherwise in good standing with the university.
4. The employee’s unit head supports the employee’s request for reinstatement.

The eligible employee’s supervisor must submit the reinstatement request by emailing copyright@iu.edu. Upon receipt of the request by the university, the request will be provided to the employee’s unit head to review in consultation with Human Resources, University Counsel, the Information Policy Office, and the Information Security Office.

Reinstated employees who have additional DMCA violations may have their access to the IU network permanently removed and face other disciplinary action.

Eligible employees whose applications are denied may reapply in one calendar year.