Plagiarism is derived from two Latin words ‘Plaiarius’ means ‘abductor or kidnapper’ and ‘plagiare’ means ‘to steal’ [1]. In simple words ‘it is an unethical practice or intellectual theft where someone steal the thought or idea or any type of work and represent it as their own, without giving any credit to original author or artist.’ In recent times, plagiarism instances are more in the field of academics due to easy and widespread availability of information on internet (Internet Plagiarism) [2]. In most of the case arises because of one’s carelessness but sometimes it is deliberate. One can categories plagiarism in different types such as full, partial, inimalistic, source citation, and self-plagiarism based upon the way by which act of plagiarism is done [1].

Importance of respecting copyrights

Copyright (denoted by symbol ©) [3,4] confirms minimum level of safety of creator for its creations/ invention. It is our basic duty on ethical grounds to support and motivate such creators by respecting their valuable work in any field.

e.g. if you spend your 10 years of life for capturing a great snap of a wild life, for this snap you travelled across the many destinations for several times. If someone uses the same snap (which already copyright by you) as their own without taking your permission. He should get appropriate punishment.

Now, remove the thing in bracket in above example, what you will do? Is it right?????

Penalties on Plagiarism

Act of plagiarism mislead the students on the future long term path of research and writing. Penalties for this act varies from mild to severe based upon the rules and regulations of academic Universities or copyright laws of different countries [4-6]. In academic stage, it can be punished by stopping to promote to higher level, passing with low grades etc. But, under copyright infringement law, it may lead to termination of job, statutory loss, monetary loss and imprisonment in certain cases [7].

How to share information without violating copyright law

Knowledge of understanding about the term, origin, consequences, ways to avoid, and monitoring the plagiarism is the primary essence for the development of appropriate skill for writing and research. Education is the preliminary way on which one can cross the road of success in writing effective articles. It is not just a matter of collection of information, but also your analysis and understanding of the topic. Second step is to express in a clear and simple format and it should not be so abstruse. It can be possible only with thorough idea about the subject matter. Writing should be very clear, concise. Conclusion and results may differ sometimes between our understanding and actual article concept, in such cases, it is a responsibility to cite proper references for reader or learner for further clarity of topic [8].

Some pin-points to get rid of plagiarism

• Read the topic properly, and frame it in your own words. Don’t try to use any paragraph or line or phrase from articles as it is.

• If you want to use exact words in your writing put quotation mark. e.g. ‘success brings happiness in life but hard work drive to satisfaction’.

• Cite proper source or write name of author while describing any procedure or part of work.

e.g. According to Abcd et al or Abcd et al describes,……..followed by citation as per guidelines.

• Check the plagiarism online by using various tools like

http://www.plagiarismchecker.com/

http://www.articlechecker.com/

http://www.duplichecker.com/

• Manage your time while doing your work.

References

1. Loveleena Rajeev, Different Types of Plagiarism, Sept 2009. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of plagiarism.html

2. Ganesh Bhosale, Internet Plagiarism, Nov 2009. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/internet-plagiarism.html

3. Copyright: American, European, or Global? http://www.copyright.in/copyright.html

4. A Hand Book of Copyright Law, Govt. of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development.

5. Copyright law of the United State. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

7. Chandramita Bora, Consequences of Plagiarism - Penalties for Plagiarism, Aug 2009. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/consequences-of-plagiarism-penalties-for-plagiarism.html

8. Sonal Panse, Ways to Avoid Plagiarism, Apr 2008. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ways-to-avoid-plagiarism.html