Copyright Infringement Policy
Unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including peer-to-peer file sharing, may subject a student to civil and criminal liabilities.
Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.
Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or "statutory" damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For "willful" infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys' fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505.
Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.
For more information, please see the U.S. Copyright Office and especially their FAQ's.
Illinois Central College considers unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, illegal downloading, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials through the ICC information technology system a Prohibited Student Conduct Policy as described under “Computer Abuse” in the Student Code of Conduct. These violations are subject to disciplinary actions such as referral to the Deans of Students and/or to a Student Conduct Committee.
Illinois Central College considers unauthorized replication of materials that are under copyright a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. This includes the duplication of both physical items (such as books, chapters, articles, music, motion pictures, photographs, etc.) and electronic materials (such as films, software, documents, music, eBooks, audio productions, etc.) These violations are subject to disciplinary action such as referral to the Deans of Students and/or to a Student Conduct Committee.
Authorized duplication of copyright material is allowed. To determine if your circumstances are “authorized”, set an appointment or visit the Library and speak with a Librarian.
To combat illegal copying and distribution, Illinois Central College employs technical deterrents such as limited file storage space and bandwidth network limits. For more information about what copyright is and how to legally create an authorized copy of a work, visit the Library’s Research Guide on Copyright.
For help finding a legal/authorized copy of a resource, speak with a librarian at (309) 694-5355 or via email at libraryservices@icc.edu or use the chat function on the library’s website. You can locate librarians in the Administration & Library Building on level 3 during normal business hours.
Items available from ICC library databases and services are licensed for educational use to members of the ICC community. The Library subscribes to over 175 databases for your educational needs.
The rights to use music may be available by requesting permissions from RIAA.
The rights to use video and film clips may be available through contacting the Motion Picture Association at Alliance4Creativity.
Interlibrary Loan ICC students and employees can request materials from other libraries and have them delivered to ICC. Visit the ILL webpage to make a request.