Plagiarism and copyright are intertwined but distinct
Introduction
The relationship between plagiarism and copyright protection is one of the topics that have become so common. Both serve the same mission which is to prevent texts from unsanctioned use although their difference is very evident. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty which involves the art of taking ones ideas and passing them of as yours. While copyright is law or a legal right .It gives the creator of the original work the authority to determine whether and under what circumstances and conditions this original work may be used by others. There are two forms of textual plagiarism, prototypiocal where intentions to deceive the readers are present and patchwriting where intentions to deceive the readers are absent. Just as plagiarism can take place copyright infringement can occur where a person uses a work that is protected by copyright laws without permission.
Plagiarism and Copyright laws have been broken at many times by academic writers who choose to reproduce and display protected work of other authors without their permission. Thus committing copyright infringement which is a crime .If two people create the same work independently of each other and without copying from each other then both can claim copyrights of their works even if they are identical, (Cornish, 2).This however is not the case in plagiarism the work written or published second would have been considered plagiarized. Copyright laws are intended to prevent the exploitation of copyright holders work from exploitation.
Plagiarism is treated differently from other writing issues. Writing is a skill but writing from a certain source is an important sub skill for any academic writer .It is necessary to equip writers with the skill to avoid it. To determine if a piece of work contains textual plagiarism. These three things must be true .The new text must contain ideas or words contained in the original text but they have been expressed entirely in a new language .The new text must repeat words or ideas from the original text .The last criterion is if the text fails to attribute its relationship to the original text. Writers plagiarize for many reasons. Sometimes because they are dishonest and willing to break the rules which they are aware of, in order to gain unearned benefit, (Pecorari, Diane, 2, 5, 11).
Copying from any source qualifies as plagiarism if it is not cited referenced or paraphrased. Even if the work has existed for a very long time and no possible harm would come to the original work whether it is long out of print or its author is dead. Plagiarism is an offence harming many in the society including the plagiarist themselves, the public and the authors of the copied work. In the case of copyright infringement only the owner of the copyright is harmed and has permission to sue. Action is taken when the infringer has benefited .The law also allows recovery only when the value of the original book has reduced. A plagiarist by claiming authorship of other’s texts assaults the author’s interest in receiving credit while attribution is irrelevant to a claim of copyright. Attribution of authorship is the personal connection between an author and his work. Copyrights is in charge of protecting the connection between the owner and the property which is impersonal, (Buranen, Lise, and Alice roy, 11, 12).
Avoiding plagiarism and copyright infringement is important in academic writing. Since it protects the work of other authors and ensures writers do not take credit for texts or works that are not originally theirs. Ways of avoiding copyright infringement and plagiarism should be put into place and enforced to ensure exellent and honest results in academic writing
Work cited
Pecorari, Diane. Academic Writing and Plagiarism: A Linguistic Analysis. London: Continuum, 2010. Internet resource.
Cornish, Interpreting the Law for Libraries, Archives and Information Services. , London 2015. Print.
Buranen, Lise, and Alice. Perspectives on Plagiarism and Intellectual Property in a Postmodern World. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. Internet resource.
