According to copyright law, if a UF employee or student puts pirated software on a computer, then that person, the person's staff supervisor or faculty member, department chair, dean, provost, president, and the Board of Regents are ALL liable for severe penalties if the infringement is discovered. The Workgroup was charged with developing a UF software copyright policy and providing education and awareness materials to UF faculty, staff, and students to help them comply with software copyright laws and licenses. Companies and universities that have been found in violation have paid fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Willful violations can even carry criminal penalties.
Brooks wants to make sure that her department is in full compliance. According to the law, it doesn't matter. YOU can be held liable for any illegal software on your workstation, even if you did not put it there yourself. In December 1993, UF invited Gary H. Becker, a nationally recognized copyright law expert, to present a series of copyright awareness workshops tailored for UF administration, computing support personnel, and faculty, staff, and students. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.