Fight the war!

(Sorry I am late. Dealing with real life as my husband was made redundant yesterday... here it is...)

The morning news reported that plagiarism is currently rife in Adelaide University. There were ninety-five students charged with plagiarism, last year. Blame is running thick and fast. The University has stated that students need to be taught how to research properly and write original reports in Primary school. Maybe there could also be a compulsory lecture (or lectures) at University on how to do this, for those who don't have the skills. I also recommend that this should contain  information  on legal, copyright and moral reasons as to why plagiarism is wrong. 

For those who are a bit fuzzy on what plagiarism is a definition from Wikipedia, a commonly used source (so it is a wonder that these students don't know about plagiarism) :

"Plagiarism is the "wrongful appropriation" and "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work." (Wikipedia, 2013) - 

Note that this is a quote from Wikipedia. A quote recognizes the source and therefore is not plagiarism, as it is not being claimed as my own definition. When quoting a quote, the writer should cite the source of the quote, and place the entire quote in those funny little squiggly lines that we use for dialogue or for inches... Guess what! They are called 'quotation marks'. A quote should also be related to the essay or discussion. There is not point otherwise, is there? 

Under fair dealing,  there is a specific list of situations where copyright is not compromised, such as allowing something to be used for study or research (or for parody - a 2006 amendment to Australian Copyright Law). Ah, says the unscrupulous or just lazy writer, I can just put quotation marks around it all and I can get away with it. Not so. Essays are designed to show your knowledge, your understanding of the subject. A thesis is written to put forward new ideas, facts or research. How can this be done with only a list of quotations? Nothing would be your original work! (Did you note the three quotes in the quotes from Wikipedia above?)

My regular readers will now be exclaiming: 'Here we go again!' They would be right. If we remove any emotional argument, there is one huge fact staring us in the face - Plagiarism is ILLEGAL!  For those who love Google, a quick search on 'plagiarism law Australia' gave me the following links in the top 10, with similar results for worldwide searches:

• University of Melbourne: http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/masters/current-students/assessment-results-and-graduation/plagiarism (they also provide  Academic skills support in this area)
• Adelaide University:  http://w3.unisa.edu.au/researchstudents/milestones/plagiarism.asp 
• Australian Copyright Council: http://www.copyright.org.au/
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_Australia
• Australian Publishers Association http://www.publishers.asn.au/index.cfm?doc_id=67 (and here we get into copyright) Yes reader, you knew I was going there... 

In Australia, writers, artists, even researchers are covered by the Copyright Act 1968. The copyright does not need to be registered. Once created, the work becomes automatically copyrighted. Not only is the original author, artist or creator covered by this law but so is the student writing an original essay or thesis. Whether the plagiarism is intentional, or due to innocent misunderstanding or ignorance of the law, it is still plagiarism. 

This is the same in the art world. My long-time readers, have heard of an artist friend of mine who original photography has been plagiarized (effectively stolen) and used on t-shirts which have surfaced in clothing shops interstate. Who knows how many have been sold overseas. This is not just her passion, but her job and livelihood. Someone has stolen her hard work: she concieved the idea, paid for a model, makeup artist and camera equipment, spent time creating the work, marketing it and selling it, with appropriate copyrights. Just because the same image can be found on her facebook page, or her gallery on her professional website, does not  make it fair game either. This does not make it public domain. The internet does not negate the legality of her copyright. She still owns the copyright.  

This goes for anyone's orginal work! Even this blog post - and my artwork! I have also had occasion, where I have found some of my photography on another's website, without permission and without acknowledgement that is was my work. I politely asked for them to remove it, or at least acknowledge the photographer. Luckily, this was resolved... eventually. 

Most people are decent, respectful and do the right thing. Unfortunately, there are enough of those who don't, for whatever reason. I just ask that people be aware of where items, images and quotes come from. I ask that they acknowledge the original authors/artists, that they don't plagiarize or use their work for their own profit. Most of all, I ask that in your everyday internet usage, you are aware of this and that you make others aware of this. If we can teach school children, university students, current and future internet users, then maybe we can change the plagiaristic culture that is forming on the internet. Setting an example and educating others against this, is our best weapon. 

Go fight the war!