Employee Handbook – Section 405 Copyright – Employees

Policy

Boston University employees are required to comply with the provisions of the United States Copyright Law, which regulates the reproduction of copyrighted material. Boston University as an institution, and individual Boston University employees, may be held liable for infringements of the Copyright Law.

A summary of the Copyright Law has been distributed to Dean, Directors and Department Heads by the Vice President for Marketing and Communications. In part, the University requires that a warning poster (see following page) be placed on or near every copying machine. Supervisory personnel must ensure that every employee under their supervision who has occasion to either reproduce copyrighted material or order its reproduction is familiar with and abides by the copyright guidelines set forth in the summary of the Copyright Law.

Warning concerning Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

Boston University reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

THIS POLICY STATEMENT IS PART OF THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK, AND SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH ALL OF THE POLICIES THAT COMPRISE THE HANDBOOK. THE PROVISIONS OF THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT AND DO NOT ALTER THE AT-WILL STATUS OF AN EMPLOYEE.