Any person that receives a complaint that material residing on the MSU server infringes copyright, should forward the complaint, or person making the complaint, to:

Jim Rimpau
Chief Information Officer
Montana Hall, Rm 211
406-994-1625
[email protected]

A complaint made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act must contain the following information:

  • A description of the works claimed to be infringed;
  • A description of the location of allegedly infringing works, sufficient to enable the agent to find them;
  • Sufficient information to enable the agent to contact the complainer;
  • A statement that the complainer believes in good faith that the use of the material is not authorized by the owner, the owner's agent or the law; and
  • A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complainer is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of one or more exclusive copyright rights.

Jim Rimpau , or his designee, will acknowledge receipt of any complaint and may request further information concerning the complaint, as needed. Jim Rimpau will immediately consult with Legal Counsel and MSU will promptly investigate the complaint to determine if the complaint of infringement has merit.

If the complaint is determined to have merit, MSU shall notify the person responsible for the alleged infringing material described in the complaint and ask the person to take down the material or provide information as to why the use of the copyrighted material does not violate copyright laws. For further information on copyright laws and permissible uses of copyrighted works, see the following sites:

http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm
http://www.peachnet.edu/admin/legal/copyright/copy.html
http://www.iupui.edu/~copyinfo/

If the alleged infringer presents information as to why the use does not violate copyright laws, the University, in coordination with Legal Counsel, will make a good faith determination whether the material infringes the copyright owner's rights. If the University determines that infringement has occurred, the University may summarily remove the offending material.

If the University and its Legal Counsel reasonably believe that the complaint is without sufficient foundation, or if well-founded, that a legal defense or exemption may apply, such as fair use, the University will not remove the material from its server and will inform the person alleging infringement of its decision and the reasons therefore.

Users of the Montana State University computer system who repeatedly infringe the copyrights of others may be removed from the server, denied access to the university computer system and/or be disciplined for such infringements.