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Policy

Whether software is procured for Administrative or Academic use, the University, its faculty, staff and students shall abide by all copyright laws pertaining to computer software and any computer software license agreements which are legally applicable to them.

Specifically this means that:

• All copies of computer software used by any department, faculty or staff member or student on a University owned computer must be a legally acquired copy.
  
• Unauthorized or illegal copying of copyrighted software for institutional, personal use or for distribution to others is strictly prohibited.
  
• Knowingly allowing copyrighted software to be illegally copied is prohibited.
  
• Copyrighted software must be stored in a location or manner so as to prevent the possibility of illegal copying.
  
• Any person knowing of a possible violation of computer software copyright law is required to report the violation to the University Administration.
  
• The Division of Technology Services shall refuse persons requesting assistance in using what appears to be an illegal copy of software.

Department/Unit Responsibilities

All software should be purchased through the Division of Technology services so that an accurate software licensing inventory can be maintained and provided in the event of a licensing audit. Every department should provide the Division of Technology Services with an original disk for any previously department purchased software and original licensing documentation for each computer the software is installed on.

The Division of Technology Services is responsible for maintaining and managing software licensing information for all licensed software for the University. If you have concerns about the licensing legality of software installed on your University computer, please contact the Division of Technology Services at dots@uwrf.edu or call (715) 425-DOTS (3687).

Authority

The UW-River Falls Chancellor issues this policy in accordance with the Administrative Policy process.
The ACBF is responsible for the administration of this policy. Request an exception to this policy by writing to administrative-policy@uwrf.edu.

Sanctions and Appeals Process

Failure to adhere to the provisions of this policy may result in appropriate disciplinary action as provided under existing procedures applicable to students, faculty, and staff, and/or civil or criminal prosecution.

Related Documents

• Copyright laws of the United States (17 U.S.C. § 101, et. seq.)
  http://www.copyright.gov/title17/
  
• UW System Computer Software Use Policy Guidelines dated March 30, 1992.
  
• UW-River Falls "University Policy on Computer Software Copyright Violation" developed by the Computer Guidance Committee dated February 14, 1992.

Contact

Please direct questions about this policy to administrative-policy@uwrf.edu.