“Plagiarism is the theft of ideas; copyright infringement is the theft of expression.” [1]
INTRODUCTION:
Copyright has become digitally important in today’s world. The use of digital technology for recording, storing, archiving, and transferring works has led to a shift in their exploitation tactics. One of the primary causes of the rise in plagiarism difficulties is the ease of access to scholarly information in the digital world.
Plagiarism is intellectual dishonesty and a violation of journalistic ethics. Copyright and plagiarism share many similarities. There is a misunderstanding about the distinction between copyright infringement and plagiarism. However, plagiarism and copyright infringement are not the same thing.
Plagiarism is not synonymous with copyright violation. False claims of authorship can lead to plagiarism, regardless of whether the item is copyright-protected or not. It is considered an ethical violation and can be detrimental to one’s academic reputation and integrity. This review paper uses examples to differentiate between concepts.
PLAGIARISM AS AN ETHICAL BREACH:
Plagiarism is an ethical concept founded on societal norms. In academia, it is considered a significant violation of academic honesty. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional. A writer intentionally deceives the audience by claiming work that was stolen or “borrowed” from another without proper acknowledgment, or by using unrelated sources. Unintentional plagiarism can occur when a source is not properly credited or when a summary or paraphrase is used instead of the source.[2]
Fishman (2009) defines plagiarism by outlining the numerous aspects involved:
- Plagiarism is defined as using someone else’s words, ideas, or work products.
- Attributed to another recognizable individual or source.
- Without crediting the source
- When there is a reasonable assumption of original authorship.
- To acquire a non-monetary reward, credit, or gain
Plagiarism is destructive since it involves claiming credit for someone else’s labor or ideas.[3]
Plagiarism is not exclusive to the academic setting. In the professional environment, plagiarism has its own set of consequences, which may include tarnishing the plagiarizer’s reputation, termination, and trouble obtaining new job. In 2014, CNN fired a London-based news editor for repeated plagiarism crimes over six months, totaling 128 individual instances of plagiarism, the majority of which were lifted from Reuters[4].
GRASPING THE ROLE OF COPYRIGHT:
Copyright is a legal concept that protects “original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” It encourages the development of works while also limiting rights to promote the free flow of ideas that benefit society. It is determined by legislative legislation and court decisions. The legal system progressed from common law, which recognized societal conventions through legal judgments and decrees, to black letter law, which codifies agreed legal concepts and is enforced by courts and legislatures. The 1976 copyright legislation defines the rights of copyright holders and is considered the most essential.
Copyright holders have five pillars of rights, including:
- Reproduction
- Adaptation.
- Publication.Performance.
- Display.
These rights encompass both the ability to accomplish something (e.g., make a movie from a play) and to prevent others from doing the same. Copyright infringement occurs when someone violates the copyright holder’s exclusive rights. [5]
Violations of copyright, whether domestic or international, can result in court proceedings, significant fines, and even jail time. Putting something under copyright on the internet exposes you to complex laws. It’s also worth noting that copyright does not protect every possible usage of these materials. Limiting copyright offers societal benefits, particularly in scholarly situations. Copyright exemptions include fair use and the limit of copyright, which allows objects to age out and become public domain.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF PLAGIARISM AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT:
Plagiarism but not copyright infringement: A student copies a few sentences from a 20-page book illustrating and describing bird species to use in an evolution article submitted to her high school newspaper but fails to provide a citation or footnote indicating that the information came from the book. This student may have committed plagiarism by failing to attribute the information properly and making it appear as if the information came from the student. However, the student will most likely not be found to have violated copyright because such a little quantity was utilized in an instructional context in a way that is unlikely to affect the author’s market for the work, making the use likely a fair use.
Copyright Infringement but Not Plagiarism: This time, the high school student copies the entire bird species book and uses it in several articles published in the paper, but she includes a citation at the bottom of each article that includes the author’s name, the title of the book, and how the entire article is taken directly from the book. While the student appropriately attributed the author and did not attempt to pass the piece off as her own work, she did copy the entire material without permission, which certainly violated the author’s copyright rights.
Plagiarism and copyright infringement occur when a young writer, aspiring to be published, copies line for line from a popular magical book series. The teenage writer sends the manuscript to her publisher, claiming she wrote it. This author committed plagiarism by submitting someone else’s work as her own, and she also committed copyright infringement by duplicating someone else’s protected work without permission.[6]
PLAGIARISM AND COPYRIGHT: DRAWING THE LINE BETWEEN ETHICS AND LAW
Copyright infringement and plagiarism are connected but distinct problems.
Copyright does not protect ideas. It merely safeguards the fixed expression of these concepts. A person infringes on copyright when he or she copies, distributes, displays, or otherwise violates copyright law. Copyright infringement is a legal issue.
Plagiarism, on the other hand, occurs when someone passes off another person’s work as their own or fails to recognize the source. Plagiarism can be avoided by giving credit to the source if you use someone else’s ideas or efforts in your work. This is an ethical condition addressed by university policy, which may result in negative consequences if violated, but it is not a legal issue.[7]
Plagiarism and copyright infringement are not synonymous. A person can plagiarize practically anything, including works that are not copyrighted. Claiming to have authored “Hamlet” is considered plagiarism, not copyright violation, as the play is in the public domain and not protected by copyright. It’s also worth mentioning that obtaining permission to use a work renders the use non-infringing, yet it may still be considered plagiarism. Obtaining authorization to submit a purchased essay does not constitute infringement, but it is still considered plagiarism because the work is not your own.
AVOIDING THE PITFALLS: COMMON STUDENT ERRORS IN COPYRIGHT AND PLAGIARISM
- Thinking that if I can do it, it’s fine (copyright infringement): For example, spreading copyrighted music files over a computer network or the Internet without the rights holder’s authorization. It is simple to perform, so it must be OK, right? (Distributing or sharing copyrighted content without authorization violates the rights holder’s rights.) For example, scanning and emailing chapters from a library book to share with classmates. They would make their own; I am simply being “helpful.” Your distribution violates copyright.
- Confusing copyright with plagiarism and vice versa might lead to the misconception that if given one type of authorization, it means total permission. For example, suppose anything is in “the public domain” and can be used without consequence. In that case, there is no need to insert quotation marks or a reference (public domain is considered copyright permission, while citations constitute plagiarism). For Illustrative example, citing something may lead you to believe you have complied with copyright rules. However, citations are related to plagiarism rather than copyright. [8]
LAWS RELATING TO PLAGIARISM AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IN INDIA:
- There are no clear regulations or statutes governing plagiarism in India; however, Section 57 of the Copyright Act of 1957[8] grants original authors the right to claim authorship of their work.
- Section 57 also uses the term “special rights” to refer to the original writers. In this case, special rights are seen as moral rights, and plagiarism is not permitted.
- Section 63 of the Indian Copyright Act of 1957 defines copyright infringement as a crime and imposes penalties for both infringement and violation of Section 57. The penalty will include a fine as well as up to three years in prison.
- The Indian Copyright Act’s Section 51 defines copyright infringement.[9]
CONCLUSION:
Plagiarism and copyright infringement may seem similar, but they are not the same. Plagiarism is an ethical construct, while copyright infringement is a legal one. Copyright infringement only affects the copyright holder(s), whereas plagiarism affects both the copyright holder(s) and others unaware of the work’s provenance.
Plagiarism and copyright infringement, as stated above, are not the same thing, although they are linked. Professional ethics prohibit plagiarism, which is the act of passing off someone else’s words, concepts, photos, etc., as one’s own. A legal privilege known as copyright gives the author of an original work the sole authority to decide whether and under what circumstances others may use that work. Ideas are not protected by copyright; only precise expression is.
Even works that are not copyright-protected might be plagiarized, such as when someone passes off a Shakespearean passage as their own. On the other hand, credit stops plagiarism charges, but it doesn’t stop copyright violations. For instance, it would be copyright infringement but not plagiarism to reproduce a book that is protected by copyright without permission while giving credit to the original author.
Author: Shreya Bhatnagar
REFERENCES:
[1] Crews, Kenneth D. (2001). Copyright and Fair Use: Overview. Columbia University Libraries.
[2] http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/index.html.
[3] Fishman, T. (2009, September 28-30). We know it when we see it is not good enough:
toward a standard definition of plagiarism that transcends theft, fraud and copyright.
Paper presented at 4th Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity, University of
Wollongong NSW Australia. (pp.1-5). Retrieved December 1, 2014 from
http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/09-4apcei/4apcei-Fishman.pdf
[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/05/16/cnn-fires-news-editor-marie-louise-gumuchian-for-plagiarism/
[5] https://www.copyright.gov/
[6] https://copyrightalliance.org/differences-copyright-infringement-plagiarism/
[8] https://www.concordia.edu/resources/uploads/library/Plagiarism-vs-Copyright.pdf
[9] https://ledroitindia.in/plagiarism-vs-copyright-infringement/
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