The WALMYR Assessment Scales may not be copied, reproduced, altered, or translated in any manner.

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Clearly, the overwhelming majority of practitioners, faculty, and university administrators are keenly aware and dutifully observant of their obligations concerning the use of copyrighted materials. Unfortunately, a few are not aware or are careless in the observances that are such an important part of professional practice and university teaching and scholarship.

It is very sad that a few have little regard for copyright law and these few individuals create a serious problem for their agencies, colleges and universities. It occasionally comes to our attention that a variety of intellectual properties are illegally copied for use in practice, research projects and for training in the classroom.

Every copy of every measurement scale produced by our company states clearly that it is illegal to photocopy or otherwise reproduce the instrument. This infrequent but costly violation of copyright is one that is shared by a wide variety of publishers who produce measurement tools and other intellectual properties of value to practice, teaching, research, and scholarship.

Partnerships For Better Education And Practice

Because copyrighted intellectual properties can be and are protected by law, persistence in copyright infringements and violations can lead to the pursuit of remedy. A much better and badly needed remedy is available and that consists of engaging a constructive collaboration between agencies and institutions of higher learning and the producers of teaching, research, and training materials that are used by colleges and universities.

The largest source of copyright violation and infringement is the lack of knowledge on the part of the offender. Thus, great progress can be made toward eliminating this infrequent but serious problem by informing all practitioners, faculty and students of their need to abide by the copyright restrictions that are posted in books, measurement tools, computer software, and other intellectual properties that are employed for use in practice, teaching, research, and other scholarly endeavors. Agency and university administrators at many levels can help greatly to alleviate these problems (and reduce the risks for their institutions) by doing little more than periodically alerting practitioners, faculty and students to the nature of the problem and their obligations as participants in the life of the professions and the university.

Human Subjects Review

Over the past 30 years universities have created effective devices for reviewing research projects in the interest of protecting human subjects from harm. Because those committees are now well established, they might also serve as at least one central check on the observance of copyright restrictions.

We therefore urge that your agency and university human subjects review committee or Institutional Review Board be empowered with new policies that will enable them to also review submitted proposals with respect to the observance of copyrights in the conduct of officially sanctioned faculty and student research and scholarship.

We hope this message will be of use to those who share our concerns and that steps can be taken to further reduce a problem that is small in number but is very costly to those who seek to meet the publication needs of practitioners, teachers, researchers, scholars, and authors.

In the final analysis, theft of copyrighted intellectual property is theft from one's colleagues and/or one's teachers. The truly good news is that costly remedies can so easily be avoided if we can work together to eliminate the cause for remedy.

Please help by printing this document and sharing it with those who may not be well informed about the use of copyrighted materials.

Thank you.