Software Piracy

[The following appears as SIU Board of Trustees 5 Policies I.]

Respect for the intellectual work and property of others is vital to the mission of higher education. This principle applies to works of all authors and publishers in all the media, including the labor and creativity resulting in computer software. It encompasses respect for the right to acknowledgement and the right to determine the form, manner, and terms of publication and distribution.

Unauthorized copying of software is illegal and may force the university as well as individuals to incur legal liability. The United States Copyright Law protects software authors and publishers in much the same manner as patent law protects inventors. Unauthorized copying of software, including programs, applications, data bases, and code, deprives developers of fair return for their work, may result in increased prices, may reduce the level of future support and enhancement available to the university, and may inhibit the development of software products.

Unless software has been placed in the public domain, the owner of a copyright holds exclusive right to the reproduction and distribution of his or her work. The purchaser of software generally purchases only a license to use the software on one machine. Most licenses do not permit copying although a licensee may generally make a backup or archival copy. Some institutional licenses permit copying for use on local area networks or on multiple machines, but such uses must be authorized in a license agreement commonly called a site license, which might include a network license or a limited-use license.

It is the policy of Southern Illinois University that unauthorized copying of computer software will not be tolerated. Such copying is both unethical and illegal. University employees and students making, acquiring, or using unauthorized copies of computer software may be subject to university disciplinary sanctions as well as legal action by the copyright owner. Neither the university nor the state of Illinois will provide legal indemnification or defense for employees or students whose violation arises out of willful misconduct as defined in Policies 2 of the Board of Trustees, E.

The chancellors of Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville shall develop procedures for the implementation of this policy, pursuant to Bylaws V. 8. [Policies 5. 9. of the SIU Board of Trustees, I.]