Rules and Resources for Online Intellectual Property

Copyright Essentials

Congratulations! You are an intellectual property owner! Under U.S. and international law, any postcard you sent someone, your scribbled grocery list and even recordings of your midnight snores have enforceable protection as copyright or other intellectual property rights.

Warning! Other people have these rights too. They can sue for infringement or can require embarrassing recall of infringing materials. They have these rights whether the material is on the Internet or on paper, whether distribution is limited or wide, whether the expression is printed words, or pictures, or sound. Generally, owning an object or having one right does not give you other rights. Check our Resources page for tips on how you can achieve your goals and not infringe others' intellectual property rights.

If you provide materials by means of University equipment or network connections, the University as your service provider may have obligations to take down your materials if the University receives a claim of infringement. The University may exercise additional disciplinary measures for repeated or flagrant misuse. This process includes recourses to make counter claims and appeal.

• Detailed Procedure For Take-Down and Other Handling of Copyright Infringement Claims