Copyright Infringement

Copyright infringement is the act of, without permission or legal authority, using or exercising one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the U.S. Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work.  In file-sharing content, down-loading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes infringement.

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 of not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. A court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed for willful infringement.  A court can also assess others costs and attorneys' fees.  Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment up to 5 years and fines up to $250,000 per offense.  For more information, please see the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov.

As required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Midlands Technical College has designated an agent to receive notification of claimed infringement on MTC's web site. If you believe your work is being infringed on MTC's web site, please notify our copyright agent:

Aleck Williams
Librarian
Midlands Technical College
P.O. Box 2408
Columbia, SC 29208
E-mail: williamsaf@midlandstech.edu
Phone: (803) 822-3678

In notifying us of the alleged copyright infringement, please be sure to include the following information:

  • a description of the copyrighted work that is the subject of the claimed infringement (if multiple works are being infringed at a single site, a representative list of such works at that site is adequate);
  • a description of the infringing material and information sufficient to permit MTC to locate the material;
  • contact information for you, including your address, telephone number and/or email address;
  • a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, or its agent, or the law;
  • a statement by you, signed under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that you have the authority to enforce the copyrights that are claimed to be infringed; and
  • a physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on its behalf.

For more information on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, please click here.