The Web has increased the sharing of data worldwide. It paves the way to make the world much smaller and data far easier to access. This is a breakthrough in the spread of data and even technology from one part of the world to another.
The Web always advances, but the laws cannot keep up. Since people can access your work around the world, the increasing benefits also produce serious problems of theft. Fraud therefore becomes certain, and protection of copyright seems to be very hard to control. Catching thieves seems to be a challenging issue, but what exactly is this crime?
What is Plagiarism?
Webster’s defines it as the stealing and passing off of words or ideas as one’s own without credit to the source. IP (Intellectual Property) is any idea, word, or production. Just like any physical property, any IP is of value and therefore needs protection.
People have different skills to produce ideas or creative work. Since intellect and the ability to create differ, creating something new has a value that needs protection. The copyright law protects IP, but many parts of the world do not comply.
Protection of property varies. For example, one form of protection for physical property would be a fence. To protect a car, enclosed car garages protect your vehicle from theft or damage. These are merely a few examples of protecting physical property. But how can you protect property that is not physical, such as an idea?
Copyright offers the exclusive legal right to copy, publish, or sell the matter and form of something (as a written, musical, or artistic work). The US Copyright Office of the Library of Congress defines it as “protection by the laws of the U.S. to the authors of ‘original works of authorship’ for intellectual works such as musical, literary, or artistic concepts”.
What Does Copyright Protect on the Web?
A website is an original IP. The law protects its design and content. This includes layout, content, and all the unique markup and elements that make it a website. A thief is anyone who uses the elements of the website without first contacting the source for permission, then crediting the source.
Some may not be familiar with the ethics of sharing web data and may commit this crime by mistake. Sadly, ignorance of the law excuses no one. It is, therefore, important to know such a law exists for websites. Proper rephrasing, evidence, and careful citation of references will help save you from committing this crime. In writing an article, for example, it would be better to analyze the ideas carefully rather than merely copying the website content.
Learn more about the many free tools to stop this in my next article Copyright Protection and Plagiarism on the Internet – Part 02…
*Originally published on WorldStart February 19, 2010
