Copyright Infringement Reminder

NMSU is required by federal law to remind its students, faculty, and staff about copyright infringement. Some within the NMSU community take advantage of "free” (aka illegal) music and movie download services, and then find themselves faced with copyright violations, fines, and other penalties. 

It is against NMSU policy to illegally download copyrighted material; doing so can lead to an unwanted disciplinary event.

NMSU takes the illegal downloading of copyrighted material seriously, and so does the federal government.  In fact, anyone found to have infringed on a copyrighted work through illegal downloading may be liable for statutory damages of up to $30,000 for each infringed work.  If willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased to up to $150,000 for each occurrence.

Be smart, do not download copyrighted material without the legal right to do so.

For more information on copyright essentials at NMSU, including student Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), downloading copyrighted material, face-to-face classroom issues, online/distance classroom issues, fair use, and open source and creator rights, please visit https://nmsu.libguides.com/copyright .

You can also visit the external resources listed below for more information regarding copyright:

• Copyright Laws - http://copyright.gov/title17/
• Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) - https://www.riaa.com/resources-learning/copyright-notices/
• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) https://www.motionpictures.org/what-we-do/advancing-creativity/

Other points to remember about the downloading of copyrighted materials:

• Pirated software is a security risk – hackers often offer virus-infected downloads to compromise your computer and possibly NMSU data.
• The software used for pirating copyrighted material may automatically use your computer to distribute that material to others.

If you have any questions regarding this notice, please do not hesitate to contact Carlos Lobato, NMSU’s Information Technology Compliance and Privacy Officer, at clobato@nmsu.edu .