Introduction
The university restriction policy on plagiarism under the academic policy on plagiarism and dishonesty statute stipulates that in the case of students using materials owned by others, they should accurately record sources of materials or notes from documents and research projects. Students can also acknowledge the sources of information and reference these materials according to the required reference procedures.
It further restricts the copying of a person’s written work by using charts, phrases, statistics, mathematical or scientific answers, or illustrations without citing the sources. It also includes either paraphrasing of thoughts, conclusions, or research without acknowledging the copy-written source in the writing and the reference listing. It also covers the act of using part of a literary plot, motion picture, poem, musical presentation, or other forms of art without the consent of the owner of the work. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
Discussion
The university restriction policy on plagiarism provides that students in the case that they have to use the materials owned by others should accurately record sources of materials or notes from documents and research projects.
Students can also acknowledge the sources of information and reference these materials according to the required reference procedures. It further restricts the copying of a person’s written work by using charts, phrases, statistics, mathematical or scientific answers, or illustrations without citing the sources. It also includes either paraphrasing of thoughts or research without acknowledging the source in the writing and the reference listing. It also covers the act of using part of a literary plot, motion picture, poem, musical presentation, or other forms of art without the consent of the owner of the work. (Anderson, 2002)
This body argues out plagiarism be the use or presentation of the work of another student present or past and the considerable use of unacknowledged published information and presentation as one’s own. According to the policy, plagiarism constitutes the widespread use of written information without suitable reference and or acknowledging the rights of the owner. These materials can either be journals, magazines, books, or web publications.
Other activities that amount to plagiarism are summarizing the owner’s material by altering some words or changing the organization of the presentation without consent, reference to, or acknowledging the original work. Another case that can amount to plagiarism is the considerable use of the thoughts of another person without authorization of the owner and not acknowledging the source of the original work. Plagiarism also involves the act of replicating the academic materials of another student with or without the other student’s awareness and agreement and the intentional use of custom-built material and presenting it as one’s own. The possession of unacknowledged use of phrases from other people’s work. This body considers plagiarism as a fraudulent act and an offense against university regulations. (Anderson, 2002)
Copyright on the other hand is the policy that gives the original creator of work exclusive rights to the materials for a given period. These rights include that of publication, distribution, use, and edition applying to thoughts, information, trademarks, patents, and intellectual possessions of different types.
Copyright law restricts the use of literary materials of all forms that include books among other forms. It also restricts the use of musical presentations and materials of individuals including dramatic work, musical art, and ideas that are dramatized. It restricts the use of choreographic works of individuals, the pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works of individuals. Copyright law also protects the audiovisual works of individuals, Sound performances, legally copyrighted works, compilations, and other architectural works.
The major comparison is that the intentional or unintentional copying of an individual’s ideas and work as one’s fall under the restrictions on plagiarism in universities policies and the copyright law. The restriction on plagiarism in the university policies is against the use of part or whole of the work of another student with their consent. However, the contrast is that in copyright law it’s legal to use the work of another person after getting consent from the owner. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
The presentation of past students’ education constitutes plagiarism according to the university restriction on plagiarism but under copyright law, copyrighted materials enter the public domain after a given time meaning that the public can use them without restrictions. In both the university policy on plagiarism and in copyright law, the accused is given a chance to argue out their case within a given time to be presented to the relevant course of action. (Harris, 2002)
The university restricts against the work of individuals presented to the university in the course of study, therefore are not allowed to distribute or present it for other purposes but under copyright law, the owner of the work retains the right to publish, distribute or adapt the work for other purposes. Copyright law goes further to cover the areas of patents and trademarks which are not addressed within the university policy against plagiarism.
The major purpose of copyright law is to promote the progress of science, useful arts, and ideas by securing the benefits that the owner gets from the materials. On the other hand, the university policy on plagiarism is majorly meant to maintain the standards of education, academic deceitfulness, and maintain the integrity of education. It also attempts to ensure that the work of students is authentic and reflective of their achievements for example in research works for attainment of certification. (Anderson, 2002)
Copyright law has been standardized in the international domain and on the other hand, the policy on plagiarism in universities is standardized across university organizations and other learning institutions. Copyright law has the economic view of creating fair trade, therefore, contributing to economic development while the university policy on the other hand majors on maintaining academic integrity within the learning institutions. The coverage of both the university policy on plagiarism and the copyright law covers intellectual and scientific works like poems, thesis, plays, and other compilations and restricts the copying of these materials. The two also cover the areas of painting, pictorial, and photographic art. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
In both the university plagiarism policy and copyright law only the form or mode of expressing ideas is covered, rather than the ideas being presented as its exceptional in both cases where two different individuals produce work with similar ideas but different in presentation. (Harris, 2002)
Copyright law makes exceptions to the restrictions in the cases where information is copied for commentary or other related uses but there are no such exceptions in the university policy on plagiarism unless the sources are expressly acknowledged. In both the university policy on plagiarism and copyright law the exclusive rights to the use of materials are based on whether the work is original rather than it being unique. In both policies, the owner needs not to register the work as long as they can prove that the work belongs to them in the case it is copyrighted. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
Copyright law takes consideration of ownership of joint work where the joint owners depending on the terms they base their ownership will have legal rights over the work. However, this is not the case in the university plagiarism policy as work once submitted by a party cannot be submitted by another. Copyright law recognizes work done on hired labor basis as belonging to the person hiring another to do the work. This is however not the case under the university policy as it is also against the proxy.
Copyright also restricts and recognizes work done by an employee within the time of employment as belonging to the employer but this is not the case under the university policy on plagiarism. Under a similar situation, copyright recognizes work done by commissioned persons or contracted parties as belonging to the person commissioning the work which is not the case under university plagiarism policy. (Anderson, 2002)
In other cases, copyright law does not forbid an individual from modifying, change, or destroying own lawfully obtained duplicate of the copyrighted material as long as copying is not involved which may not be the case under the university plagiarism policy. The restrictions of copyright authorize some replication and distribution without the permission of the copyright holder or payment for the same in cases of fair use based on the rationale and nature of use, a form of the copywritten work, the substantiality of the copywritten work concerning the original work and the effect of the use on the exchange value of the copywritten work.
However, this is not the case with the restrictions placed by the university plagiarism policy. Another exception to the copyright law is the rather technical temporary reproduction of work into machine readable form for computer use. However, this exception does not apply to the restrictions of the plagiarism policy. Copyright for educational use is often considered fair use which is not the case with university restrictions. (Harris, 2002)
In the current information and digital age, the copyright restrictions allow for duplication and distribution of music through the web at a low cost which is not the case with the university policy on plagiarism concerning the reproduction of the music, and art creations held. Under Australian Law, copyright is only passed in writing which is not the standard held by the plagiarism policy. (Anderson, 2002)
The enforcing agents of the copyright act are entrusted with making arrests then the relevant investigation into the offense is done followed by a verdict for the crime established. On the other hand, the same is done by the university authorities then due action is taken by the university administration which may even involve suspension from the standardized university awarding of certification. (SIMSPSON COLLEGE, 2009)
Conclusion
From this work, it is evident that the University policy against plagiarism has restrictions that are much stiff than the restrictions placed on copying other people’s materials by the copyright law. However, the major difference between the limits placed in individual materials is for a given time that is determinable but for the university policies, the time is largely indefinite. It can also be argued that plagiarism is majorly a branch of the larger copyright act as the restrictions of the university act are covered within the copyright act then it goes further to involve others, not within the university policy
List of References
Anderson, R. (2002).Copy advisory network. Web.
Harris, R.A. (2002). Using sources effectively: strengthening your writing and avoiding plagiarism. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Pub.
SIMSPSON COLLEGE. (2009).Copyright & Plagiarism. Web.