Using other people’s works is becoming more and more popular and convenient. However, this also leads to ethical and legal issues, especially two important concepts: plagiarism and copyright infringement. Although related, these two concepts have distinct characteristics that need to be clearly understood. The following VCD article will help you.
1. Plagiarism
Concept: According to Vietnamese dictionaries, plagiarism means taking or using the basis of another person’s work as one’s own. Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional use of academic products of sentences, paragraphs, articles, data, images, information and ideas of others into one’s own products without using instructions or acknowledging the author of the used content.
Plagiarism is simply the act of using or copying someone else’s ideas or work and pretending that you came up with it or created it.
The nature of plagiarism: Copying someone else’s ideas or quoting someone else’s ideas and pretending that they are your own.
Governing rules: Usually handled by universities, research institutes or educational institutions related to academics.
Enforcement agency: Academic Title Council, Rector or councils of schools or scientific institutes
How to avoid violations: Cite ideas, sentences, phrases used by others with quotation marks and clear sources.
2. Copyright infringement
Concept: Copyright infringement is an act of violating the intellectual property rights of the author, as stipulated in Article 28 of the Law on Intellectual Property. Any individual or organization that commits an act of copyright infringement such as copying, leasing, making derivative works, publishing or distributing a work without the permission of the copyright owner is considered to be infringing copyright. However, there are cases where “fair use” may not be considered an infringement.
Nature of copyright infringement: Performing acts specified in Article 28 of the current Intellectual Property Law leads to infringement of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights.
Governing rules: According to Article 28 of the current Intellectual Property Law and Article 225 of the 2015 Penal Code. Administrative, civil or criminal sanctions may be applied.
Enforcement agency: Intellectual property enforcement apparatus such as police, market management, specialized inspectors, courts
How to avoid violations: Ask for permission from the copyright owner or prove that the act of using or copying someone else’s work does not infringe copyright because it falls under fair use.
3. Some notes on plagiarism and copyright infringement
The common point between plagiarism and copyright infringement is the appropriation, impersonation, copying, or use of someone else’s work without clearly stating the source, making others think that it is your own product. However, it should be noted that not all acts of copyright infringement are considered plagiarism, and vice versa. This distinction is important in understanding the legal and ethical aspects related to the creation and use of works. For example:
Plagiarism without copyright infringement: A student may copy a passage from Nam Cao’s “Chi Pheo” without citing the source. This is considered plagiarism because the student does not indicate that the passage is not his or her own. However, if the original author does not seek to protect his or her rights or there is no evidence that the copying caused damage, this does not necessarily constitute copyright infringement.
Copyright infringement without plagiarism: A researcher may collect material from the internet, including photos, graphics, or articles. If they use these works in a paper with clear citation, they have properly cited them. However, if these works are still owned by the author without permission, the act of copying and using them may be considered copyright infringement. This happens because copyright protects the original author’s rights, allowing them to control the use of their work, regardless of whether or not the source is fully cited.
Although both plagiarism and copyright infringement involve the use of another individual’s work, they possess distinct characteristics.. Plagiarism focuses on the lack of acknowledgement of the source and the impersonation of ideas, while copyright infringement emphasizes the violation of intellectual property rights. Understanding this difference will help creators and users of works avoid legal risks and maintain integrity in their work.
Above is the article “Distinguishing Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.
Sincerely,
