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Technology Services

CSU and Fresno State Policies

Statement

California State University, Fresno complies with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you have a concern regarding the use of copyrighted material on any site on the California State University, Fresno network, please contact the agent designated to respond to reports alleging copyright infringement.

Designated Agent

The designated agent for the California State University, Fresno campus to receive notification of claimed infringement under Title II of the DMCA is:

Designated Agent:
Rafael Villegas
Information Security Officer
Information Technology Services
email: dmca@listserv.csufresno.edu 
Telephone:  559-278-3923
Fax:        559-278-4660
  
Fresno State 
Information Technology Services
2225 East San Ramon Avenue
Mail Stop MF93
Fresno, CA.  93740-8029

Claims

The DMCA specifies that all infringement claims must be in writing (either electronic mail or paper letter) and must include the following:

  • A physical or electronic signature of the copyright holder or a person authorized to act on his or her behalf;
  • A description of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
  • A description of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address;
  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Have you received a notice from our Security Office concerning alleged copyright infringement? If you have, you are required to read the following information.

If you have not received a notice, we strongly recommend that you read this information to ensure you understand how to avoid violating copyright law. Violations could result in you losing your campus wireless access .

  • Why did I receive a copyright infringement notice?
    • You received a notice because our logs indicated that your username was logged on when the alleged infringement occurred.
  • Who is monitoring my internet activity?
    • Copyright infringement agencies track infringement by looking at network traffic to find violators. Fresno State does not monitor your network activity.
  • Why does Fresno State send students notices?
    • Fresno State is required by law to send students notices informing them that they have been identified as allegedly being involved in copyright infringement.
  • What is Copyright Infringement?
    • Copyright infringement is downloading or sharing songs, movies, software and games without the permission from the owner. If you are not sure you have the right to access or download a particular title, don't do it.
    • As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.
    • It is against the law
    • It is against Fresno State's policy
    • It is an inappropriate use of our network resources
  • How can copyright infringement occur?
    • Example 1 - Unintentional
      (Against our policy and illegal)
      • You are sitting in the student union and decide to connect to our network. While you are checking your email, someone is downloading a file from your laptop - which is in a folder that is associated with the installed peer-to-peer application. A copyright enforcement agency records the IP address and notifies Fresno State. We look in our logs and identify the student. We send you a notice. The fact that you are on a wireless network gives you no protection from these agencies.
    • Example 2 - Intentional or willful
      (Against our policy and illegal)
      • You hear about a new movie that came out. You get on the wireless network .You open your peer-to-peer client and search for the movie. You find the movie. You assume you can download it because "everyone else is". You think you will not get caught because you are on a wireless network. One week later we receive a notice about the infringement. We send you a notice.
    • Example 3 - Someone using your username and password
      Do not share your password with anyone
      • If you have given your password to someone, please reset it immediately at https://password.csufresno.edu/
        (Against our policy and illegal)
        When you enrolled at Fresno State, you created a username and password. You shared these credentials with your friend. Now your friend logs into the wireless network using your username and password. He/she starts downloading movies. A few days later we receive a copyright notice associated with your account. Even though you did not do this yourself, you will still be responsible because it is your username that will be identified in our logs.
  • Who is responsible for the infringement?
    • You are responsible for all notices we receive concerning your account - even if it is unintentional. This is why it is so important to remove the peer-to-peer software from your laptop.
  • What are the consequences?
    • You risk being sued by the copyright enforcement agency and it puts Fresno State at risk also. Some students at other universities have paid as much as $3,000 per title. (As a settlement before court)
    • Students can be sued for each violation from $750 - $150,000 depending on the copyrighted material and whether the violation was willful or not.
    • You may lose your wireless access .
      • Wireless connectivity allows students to connect anywhere on campus. If you lose your wireless access because of copyright infringement, it will be more difficult to get your school work done. If your wireless access is disabled, you may lose it for the remainder of the semester.
  • Definitions
    • Copyright Enforcement Agency
      • Organization that is hired by a copyright owner to find users on the network illegally sharing copyrighted material.
    • Peer-to-Peer Software
      • Peer-to-peer software is what is used to share files. Here are some examples;
        Bittorrent, Limeware, Shareaza, Kazaa, iMesh, Bearshare Lite, eMule, KCeasy, Soulseek, WinMX, Piolet, Gnutella, Overnet, Azureus now called as Vuze, FrostWire, uTorrent, Morpheus, ANts, Acquisition
        All of these programs may have the ability to automatically allow files to be shared when you turn on your computer - whether you are aware of it or not. It is strongly recommended that you remove these programs to avoid unintentional file sharing.
    • Actively downloading
      • Intentionally downloading unauthorized copyrighted material
    • Passively allowing downloading
      • Allowing a remote user to download unauthorized copyrighted material from your computer because your peer-to-peer program starts automatically without your knowledge

If you were directed by our Security Office to go to this website due to receiving a second copyright infringement notice, please send email to igetitcopyright@csufresno.edu to confirm that you now understand our copyright policy and the consequences for non-compliance. If you do not respond, your wireless access will not be re-enabled.

This page is based on the campus' Acceptable Use Policy.

Please visit the California State University page to get more information.