DMCA Notice: Instructions for Students
If you have received notice of a DMCA copyright complaint
If you have received a notice of a DMCA copyright violation, this indicates that a copyright owner or agent has notified VCU that you are violating their copyright by downloading, sharing, or copying media. VCU does not monitor for these violations, however, we will launch an internal investigation to track the source of the alleged violation. Because you have received this notice, you have been identified as the source of the violation and must remove the offending media.
How Will I Recognize the DMCA Notice?
The notices will be very similar and the sender will be “dmcaagent <at> vcu.edu”. This email will include details regarding copyright infringement including the IP address, Hostname, MAC (Media Access Control) Address of the offender, date/time, and the copyright infringed work.
These notices must be answered promptly. Failure to respond to notice can lead to disconnection from the network and referral to Student Affairs.
What do I do next?
To satisfy the requirements of the DMCA, you must complete the following steps:
- Remove the infringed copyrighted material from your computer. If you cannot locate the copyrighted material on your computer, please reply back to VCU DMCA Agent who will assist in coordinating a meeting with the VCU IT Support Center.
- We strongly recommend removing or disabling any P2P programs (E.g. Bittorrent software).
- In most cases, you should reply to the email we sent with the statement “I have ceased the unauthorized sharing of copyrighted material from my computer.”. If you believe that this notice was sent in error, you can file a Counter-Notice. In most cases, we do not recommend filing a Counter-Notice.
- If you do not reply within 3 business days, your access to VCU Network will be disconnected. Additionally, if you continue to fail to respond to our emails, you will have to meet with Student Affairs.
- If this not your first offense, your network access will be immediately disconnected and you will have to meet with Student Affairs.
Please be aware that regardless of the actions VCU takes, the copyright owner can still pursue legal actions against you. Even though you may be unaware that your activity was illegal or someone else is using your wireless account or your computer, you are still responsible for the network activity associated with your account. If you don’t know how to protect your device from malware/viruses, please review some of our helpful tips.
Counter-Notification
If you are confident that you are legally using the copyrighted material or the copyright owner has misidentified the material, you can file a counter-notice. The counter-notice steps are outlined as an attachment to the original violation email. In most cases, it is highly unlikely you should file a counter-notification. To complete the counter-notice, please follow the steps in the initial email.