In accordance with Public Law 93-380, Section 438 FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT, and Florida Statute s.229.782, students at Humboldt International University have the right to inspect their educational records, correct such records if warranted, and students are protected from the release of information without written consent. All students’ records are open for inspection and review by the student unless he or she waives the right. Humboldt International University can have a student sign a complete release form for records and other information, such as for prospective employers, or can have a student sign an individual release form for each request of information. This information will be released from the Director’s office, or designee only after the requester has demonstrated a legitimate need to have such information. This information is communicated thru the website and the catalog.
Copyright is legal protection for creative intellectual works, which is broadly interpreted to cover almost any expression of an idea. Text (including email and Web information), graphics, arts, photographs, video and other media types, music, and software are examples of the kinds of works protected by copyright. The creator of the work, or sometimes the person who hired the creator, is the initial copyright owner.
Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works covered by copyright law, in a way that violates one of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work or to do derivative works. It is against policy for any student, faculty, staff member, consultant, contractor or other worker at the institution to copy, reproduce, share, or distribute any software, music, games, or movies on institution computing equipment except as expressly permitted by a software license or with the written consent of the copyright holder or as otherwise allowed under federal law.
Willful infringement may subject a student or employee to discipline and can impact the privilege to use information technology resources at the institution. Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution. Even an innocent, unintentional infringement violates the law. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages for each work infringed and, if the copyright owner proves willful infringement, that amount may be increased for each work infringed. Besides, an infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney's fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights. 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 on United States copyright law, please consult the U.S. Copyright Office’s website at http://www.copyright.gov.
