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CHAPTER 6. UNIVERSITY FACILITIES AND SERVICES

The University of Texas at Austin            Policy Memorandum 6.300
Office of the President                      April 17, 1989

Subject: MICROCOMPUTING SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT POLICY

Most software available in microcomputers at the University of Texas at Austin is protected by Federal Copyright laws. Educational insitutions are not exempt from the laws covering copyrights. Also, software is normally protected by a license agreement between the purchaser and the software seller. The software provided through the University for use by faculty, staff and students may only be used on computing equipment as specified in the various software licenses.

Software license agreements for microcomputers normally contain the following provisions.

1. Grant of License

The licensor grants to the licensee a non-exclusive right to use a copy of a software program on a single computer at a single location. In the case of a computer lab or similar environment, software must be obtained for each computer or else a multi-user license must be obtained.

2. Copy Restrictions

Copying of software, or software instructional materials (manuals), is forbidden. A user backup copy of the software is normally permitted, but it may not used unless the original copy is damaged or destroyed.

3. Use Restrictions

The licensee may physically transfer the software from one computer to another provided that the software is used on only one computer at a time. You may not distribute copies of the software or the related instructional materials (manuals).

The provisions contained in license agreements vary from one software company to another. The provisions may also differ between software products marketed by a single company.

It is the policy of The University to respect the copyright protections given by Federal law to software owners. It is against University policy for faculty, staff and students to copy or reproduce any licensed software on University computing equipment except as expressly permitted by the software license (one backup copy, for example). Also, faculty, staff and students may not use unauthorized copies on University-owned computers or computers housed in University facilities. Unauthorized use of software is regarded as a serious matter and any such use is without the consent of The University of Texas at Austin.