Computer Software Licenses

POLICY 6-2
COMPUTER SOFTWARE LICENSES

Issued: 6-91
Revised: 10-98
Approved:

I. PURPOSE

This policy relates the position of the College on the licensing of computer software.

II. GENERAL

Fort Lewis College licenses the use of its computer software from a variety of outside companies. In many cases the license agreement specifies that the College does not own the software or its related documentation. Reproducing computer software or documentation without authorization from the manufacturer may violate the U. S. Copyright Law and other legal property rights of the software manufacturer. Money paid for a software product usually represents a license fee for the use of one copy of that software. In most cases it does not represent an authorization to copy. Civil damages for unauthorized software copying can be quite severe, and criminal penalties include fines and imprisonment. Fort Lewis College computer software users must be aware of applicable property right laws when using computer software, and of their responsibility to honor licensing agreements with software producers. In the event of license agreement violations both the College and the individual user may be held responsible.

Therefore, it is the policy of Fort Lewis College that:

1. All computer software used by Fort Lewis College faculty and staff in performance of their College-related duties and activities, and all software used by students on College-owned equipment as part of the regular academic curriculum, shall be licensed as required by the software manufacturer or other legal licensing agent.

2. Student users of College-owned computer equipment shall be informed, by publication of College policy on the College web page, of their responsibilities in following the applicable copyright laws and software licensing agreements.

3. Faculty members have an obligation to obey applicable property right laws and to not encourage student lab users to violate software licensing agreements.

4. The Office of Computing and Telecommunications will pursue site licensing and bulk purchase arrangements with software vendors, whenever possible and in accordance with State purchasing regulations.

5. The Office of Computing and Telecommunications will periodically conduct software audits of selected College-owned microcomputer equipment, to verify that software is appropriately licensed.