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Obey copyright laws. Sharing copyrighted material without permission is against the law. See Mind your P's and Q's to avoid copyright prosecution.

UC Berkeley's DMCA Designated Agent should receive any online copyright infringement allegations for UC Berkeley network locations.

No Electronic Theft Act clarified that willful online copyright infringements are punishable by severe penalties, even though the distributor makes no profit.

Disable any unwanted filesharing programs. Your computer may be set up so that it can share unauthorized copyrighted materials without your knowledge or consent. See Disabling Peer to Peer File Sharing.

Copyright Resources

General Information
Legal Alternatives
Preventing Infringements
Protecting Our Own Works
Permissions and Fair Use

General Information

UC Copyright Education Web Site, an educational resource for the UC community, assembles in one place selected systemwide and campus information and resources about academic copyright concerns. Topics include:
- Systemwide Policies and Resources
- Campus Policies and Resources
- Copyright Ownership
- Using Copyrighted Works
- Additional Resources (Current News and Issues, Copyright Basics Copyright Ownership, Fair Use, Obtaining Permissions, Public Domain, TEACH Act and Copyright and the Web Resources, University Copyright Centers and FAQs, Copyright-related Advocacy Organizations, and U.S. Copyright Laws)
- FAQs
UC Guidelines for Compliance with the Online Service Provider Provisions of the DMCA
- UC Berkeley's Designated Agent under the DMCA
Also see the Copyright section of the Campus Online Activities Policy

Legal Alternatives

EDUCAUSE maintains a list of all known legitimate download services
UC Berkeley has a partnership with iTunes for music download service
Residential Computing filesharing resources

Preventing Infringements

Digital Copyright Protection at the University of California
UC Commitment to Copyright Law
Universitywide Copyright Policies and Guidance
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
From the CIO:
- Piracy and privacy: Critical network management issues
- Piracy and privacy—Part II
EDUCAUSE: white paper on Copyright Law and Potential Liability for Students Engaged in P2P File Sharing, plus "Subject Terms" items: Illegal File Sharing, and Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
Electronic resources in the Library: Conditions of use and licensing restrictions
A Primer on Distance Learning and Intellectual Property Issues

Protecting Our Own Works

Copyright Notices on Campus Websites
UC Berkeley's Office of Technology Licensing: assistance registering copyrights

Permissions and Fair Use

U.S. Copyright Office
Copyright Clearance Center: photocopy permissions
Title 17—Copyrights, U.S. Code, Cornell Law School
Fair Use [PDF], Library of Congress
Fair Use: Overview and Meaning for Higher Education, CETUS
Copyright Issues, American Library Association (ALA)
10 Big Myths about copyright explained, with applications to Usenet and Internet publication
When Works Pass into the Public Domain, L. Gasaway, UNC
Copyright on the Internet, Thomas G. Field, Jr., Franklin Pierce Law Center
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse: protections for online activity in intellectual property law and the First Amendment.
Copyright Website for "infonauts, netsurfers, webspinners, content providers, musicians, appropriationists, activists, infringers, outlaws, and law abiding citizens."
Creative Commons: devoted to expanding the range of creative work available for others to build upon and share.
DigitalConsumer.org: consumers' rights to fair use