Copyright & P2P
Often, students use multimedia that they've found online to illustrate a concept in a paper, presentation, or project, and they look for guidance on adhering to fair use guidelines. Our Copyright Guide provides a broad range of information to help, and has contact information where you can ask your specific questions. This webpage will help you determine what you can legally use and what you should avoid using without first obtaining permission from the copyright holder
Students, and others on campus, also have a number of questions about copyright and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing. Owners of copyrights are very aggressive in their pursuit of alleged violators. The University of Arizona takes it very seriously when there are allegations of illegal file sharing using university networks and computers.
We know the issue is a confusing one with lots of legal gray areas. To help you understand the basics a little better, we've compiled some information we think will make the whole thing a lot clearer:
FAQs
This FAQ sheet has been reviewed and approved by a copyright attorney from
The University of Arizona Office of the General Counsel, so you can trust
that the information is correct and timely. It contains links to helpful
documents explaining Fair Use and provides
guidance on what to do if you're ever served with a subpoena, or contacted
by representatives of copyright holders alleging copyright infringement.
OSCR Forum
OSCR hosts a community forum for a variety of IT-related topics, where you
may find discussions on copyright issues.
OSCR maintains a list of sites where you can get legal music for course projects and entertainment here.
Online Resources
Here are a few websites that we have selected because they present accurate,
up-to-date information in an easy-to-understand way.
But if you're ever stumped about whether what you want to do is legal or not, just STOP what you're doing and contact us. If we don't know the answer, we'll put you in touch with people who do.
Dan Lee, Director, Office of Copyright Management & Scholarly Communication, (520) 621-6433, leed@u.library.arizona.edu
This material is adapted from earlier versions created by University of Arizona Office fo the General Counsel and the Office of Student Computing Resources.