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Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
Implementation at UNH.

This documents the University of New Hampshire's procedures for compliance with the sections of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), enacted in 1998, that deal with online copyright infringement liability limitation. Complete copies of the copyright law of the U.S. (Title 17), incorporating the DMCA provisions, are online in both text and PDF formats. And a complete copy of the DMCA Act itself is available. See also the subsequent required study on encryption that is available online. A directory of agents is maintained by the U.S. Copyright Office.

University DMCA Agent.

The designated University Agent to receive written claims of copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is:

Tom Franke
Assistant Vice President/CIO
Computing & Information Services
University of New Hampshire
307 Thompson Hall
105 Main Street
Durham, NH 03824-3547

E-mail (preferred): dmca@unh.edu
FAX: 603-862-0673

Reporting Claims of Infringement.

A written notification of claimed infringement must be sent to the University Agent from the alleged copyright owner (Complaining Party) that includes substantially the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the Complaining Party. As an electronic signature we accept FAX and a digitized image of the signature attached to e-mail.

  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.

  3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or disabled, including information reasonably sufficient to permit the University to locate the material. For example, include the URL.

  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the University to contact the Complaining Party, such as address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

  5. A statement that the Complaining Party has a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the Complaining Party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Counter Notification of Replacement.

The User (subscriber) may provide a counter notification to the University Agent, responding to the notification from the Complaining Party. A counter notification must be a written communication provided to the Agent that includes substantially the following:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of the User (subscriber).

  2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.

  3. A statement under penalty of perjury that the User has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.

  4. The User's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the User consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if the User's address is outside the United States, for any judicial district in which the University may be found and that the User will accept service of process from the person who provided notification or an agent of such person.

Once the complaining party receives the User's claim, the DMCA permits the University to restore materials or access within two weeks -- unless the Complaining Party serves notice that it intends to seek a court order to restrain infringement. University policy may mandate for other reasons that materials or access not be restored, and some other investigation may proceed.

The DMCA does not alter fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law. See the UNH primer and recommended procedures.

Resources on Intellectual Property.

UNH and USNH-Specific Resources.

DMCA-Specific Resources.

General Internet Resources.

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