Intellectual Property Rights and Responsibilities Central to an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of student computer users is the notion of intellectual property. In brief, this concept holds that materials stored in electronic form are the property of one or more rightful owners. Like any other property, electronically stored information, whether data or programs, should not be stolen, altered or destroyed, misappropriated, or plagiarized. Such inappropriate activities violate the code and are subject to disciplinary action as set forth in the code. Students are responsible for adhering to the spirit and the letter of these access controls, and violations of access rights can be interpreted under the code as theft of university services whether or not those services have been separately billed.
Students are also responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of access rights under their control.
For example, release of a password, whether intentional or inadvertent, invites misuse by others and may be subject to disciplinary action. Despite access controls imposed, system failures may occasionally make it possible for students inappropriately to read, use, copy, alter, or delete information stored electronically on a university computer system. Students are responsible for not exploiting such system failures and for reporting them to proper university personnel so that corrective steps can be taken. The use of university computing resources to disseminate obscene, pornographic, or libelous materials, to threaten or harass others, or otherwise to engage in activities forbidden by the code is subject to disciplinary action as specified in the code.