The Administration of the City is committed to insuring that all computer systems used by the City and its employees are fully legal and are being used in an ethical and productive manner and, further, that all the pertinent copyright requirements are honored with respect to any software and related documentation contained on any of the individual systems, or over any networks to which they may be connected.
U.S.C. Title 17 is quite clear on the restrictions of copyright law, as well as the penalty for the violation thereof. It is understood that violations of such law can result in civil damages and criminal penalties in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and/or five years imprisonment per incident.
It is the responsibility of each individual employee using any form of copyrighted computer software and/or documentation, during the normal performance of his or her duties and for whatever purpose, to insure that the material is being used in an ethical and lawful manner. Each employee is encouraged to ascertain that each hardware instrument he or she is using has the copyrighted software supported, where possible, by copies of the purchase order paperwork, the software registration, the original disk and the original operators manuals. The collected materials must remain with the hardware, or at an identified location, as long as the copyrighted material is resident within the hardware.
It is the responsibility of the individual employee using City-owned hardware, software and related documentation to fully understand the legal aspects of the copyright law with regard to site licenses, shareware, public domain software, network licenses and archival copies.
The City reserves the right to control and have access to the location of the necessary software documentation as well as the configuration of any City-owned hardware to protect the City's legal position. The City reserves the right to conduct an audit of computer software periodically.
Software that is purchased with City funds must be registered in the City's name and will remain the property of the City. Employees of the City who make, acquire, destroy or distribute copies, or who willfully allow for the making, acquisition, destruction or distribution of copies, of City-owned, copyrighted materials in an illegal manner, shall be subject to disciplinary action as may be appropriate under the circumstances. Likewise, misuse of the City's equipment or materials in a non-productive manner during normal working hours shall make the employee subject to disciplinary action as may be appropriate. Such disciplinary action may include dismissal from employment. Recreational-type software is not to be installed on City-owned equipment.
No computer software shall be installed on City-owned equipment without the prior written approval of the Data Processing Manager. Such prohibition shall be binding upon all employees of the City, including elected and appointed officials thereof.
(Ord. 93-45. Passed 4-6-93; Ord. 93-139. Passed 9-7-93.)