What is copyright infringement?

If you want to know how copyright infringement affects you as an Internet user, and what you need to do, read more below.

More about copyright infringement

Copyright infringement defined

Copyright protection gives creators of original intellectual property (such as music, movies, videos, books, artwork, and images) the exclusive right to that work - including control over reproduction, distribution, adaptation, performance, or financial benefit. If you or any other user(s) of your account copy, reproduce, adapt, or distribute copyrighted material without authorization, you are infringing those rights.

What I need to know

Using your Internet service to infringe copyrights is illegal and a violation of the AT&T Internet Terms of Service (TOS) and Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), which applies to all users of your account, and could result in mitigation measures including limitation of Internet access or even suspension or termination.

How does this affect me?
Through the Copyright Alert Program, users are given an opportunity to understand and change behavior that may be resulting in Copyright Alerts. However, if they receive multiple Copyright Alerts, they may encounter corrective action or mitigation measures, which may limit or inhibit Internet access.

What do I need to do?

Last updated: December 7, 2022

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