War Against Plagiarism: A Review of the Law and Creation of Awareness.

By Jawondo Ibrahim Jr - 500 level.

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Intellectual Property refers toa creation of the mind. It is a term for various legal entitlements which are attached to things like inventions, recorded and written media, names, and so on. It is usually connected to images, artistic and literary work, inventions and commerce.

Property, in the abstract, is “what belongs to or with something, whether as an attribute or as a component of a said thing”. An article of property may have physical and incorporeal parts i.e. tangible and intangible property. Intangible property generally refers to statutory customs such as copyright, trademarks or patents. It excludes tangible property like real properties e.g Land, buildings etc.

Wikipedia defines Plagiarism as the “wrongful appropriation” and “stealing and publication” of another author’s “language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions” and the representation of them as one’s own original work.

Plagiarism existed long before the advent of the internet.  However, with the internet came an availability of information without constraints. ‘Copy and Paste’ has become a common phenomenon in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. Students copy texts from the internet and paste in their work, without citations giving credit to the original source, thereby passing it off as their own. Also, some students commit the act of plagiarism unknowingly, due to ignorance of how to cite sources or of what constitutes a quotation. It all boils down to awareness.

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Plagiarism and copyright violations are here, argued to be different. Plagiarism is predominantly a violation of the norm in the academia, while a copyright violation is illegal as provided by the Copyright Act.

The Copyright Act is an act that was promulgated in 1988 as the Copyright Decree (No 47) of that year. It is an act that makes provisions for the definition, protection, transfer, infringement of and remedy and penalty of the copyright in literary works, musical works, artistic works, cinematography films, sound recordings, broadcast and other ancillary matters.

Section 9 and 11 of the Copyright Act 1988 as amended provide exclusive rights to the copyright holder. An infringement on such rights will be considered actionable as a breach of statutory duty. Section 17 (2) of the Copyright Act 1988 as amended provides that the person whose rights have been infringed on shall be entitled to an award of damages and injunction among other remedies, as the court may deem fit to award in the circumstances.

From the foregoing, it shows there is a form of protection provided. However, plagiarism is not punishable. A review of the law or an extension to plagiarism will go a long way in serving as a deterrent to plagiarism.

University of Croatia, Texas, argues that determining how plagiarism differs from copyright infringement lies in the consequences that follow the infringement of plagiarism. These consequences are decided by “the community and are influenced by factions such as intentionality, repetition, and intent to harm or cheat”. When plagiarism is spotted, the erring student loses marks or suffers a withdrawal of his certification. Copyright, however, is a legal concept to protect.

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In fighting the war against plagiarism in Nigeria, the law should either be reviewed, or a new enactment should be made on plagiarism, with cyber-plagiarism as a focus. Mass awareness of the existence of such law should be made. Punishment of the offender should be left to discretionary decisions of the court but with specified actions contained in the act. This will serve as a deterrent to plagiarizers or intending plagiarizers.

An introduction of electronic plagiarism tests, which will check texts written for matching ones on the internet, will also be most helpful. The machine will be most effective on research papers and degree awarding research projects, both for undergraduates and postgraduates. Although the electronic plagiarism tests are in place in some universities, it is used for postgraduate students only. Its use will curb the rise of plagiarism, if not eradicate it. 

From all the suggestions above, there can be no gainsaying that the laws of the Copy Right Act have become somewhat archaic and an amendment of its laws is required to suit the ever advancing electronic age would ensure and boost its relevance. A nationwide sensitization on plagiarism would create awareness on the evils of plagiarism.