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Copyright Law Plagiarism
Plagiarism Is Simply Unethical
Anyone who is a writer is concerned with plagiarism. Copyright Plagiarism Laws protects copyright holders from having their works plagiarized. Many people think it is ironic that the word plagiarism derives from “kidnapper” in Latin. However, it is true. If a person uses another person’s words without permission, they have indeed stolen or kidnapped something that was owned by another and is in violation of copyright law. Plagiarism is a very bad word in the writing world. Crediting the author of the work will not keep someone immune from being in violation of copyright law. Plagiarism is plagiarism, even if the author is cited if the author did not give permission for the work to be used.
One of the most common areas that copyright law plagiarism is violated is in the academic world. Many students will copy and paste the information they need for their research papers and essays straight off the Internet and turn it in to their professors. However, this type of cheating is easily detected now with special programs that professors can use. Plagiarism is unethical, not only in the writing world, but in the academic world, as well.
Did you know that you could plagiarism a work but not be in violation of the copyright? Likewise, you can be in violation of a copyright and not have been plagiarizing. It is really not that hard to understand. Let’s say you are using Abraham Lincoln’s exact words in a paper and you did not cite him as the source or give him credit. Well, Lincoln’s words aren’t copyrighted because they are in the public domain. But, you did plagiarize because you tried to pass off his words as your own.
Alternatively, if you use a picture in a book and you did not gain permission to use the book, you have violated copyright law because you did not source the artist and you did not get permission from the artist to use the picture.
If you are in school, the best way you can get around committing plagiarism is to simply list your sources. If you use someone’s word, list it in an endnote or in a footnote. List the resource you found it in the bibliography. Another way around copyright law plagiarism violations is to take notes when you are reading. Take notes in your own words and put the resource away. Write your paper from your own words.
No one wants to be singled out for plagiarism, especially a student who is concerned about their reputation at school and writers who need to keep their credibility in good standing. With today’s technological advances, it is not too hard to pinpoint plagiarized work. Even webmasters who run websites are on to the plagiarism crowd. They can run their entire sites through a special program to see if their content has been stolen and duplicated elsewhere on the Internet.
If you are dealing in the written word, either academically or as a profession, it is a good idea that you only use your own words. It was probably easier to get away with plagiarism 100 years ago, but it is not that easy today. The changes are very high that if you are caught violating copyright law plagiarism laws you will be caught. Not only is it embarrassing, but it can cost you a bundle in a lawsuit.
Software Copyright Laws Software Copyright Laws Fail to Provide Adequate Protection Software copyright laws are among the most difficult to enforce among the masses. Many companies and corporations are also well known for overlooking these laws, which were designed to protect the makes of software from not earning their worth. Perhaps one of the biggest hitches leading so many software businesses to go out of business is the fact that they have a great deal of difficulty actually enforcing the software copyright laws that are in place and getting the money that is owed them according to the agreements that have been made with those on the using end of the software. Software developers, particularly in the corporate world design software that makes other companies run more efficiently. The software allows these companies to save millions of dollars each year. Software copyright laws protect the interests of the software developers that create these massive programs. These programs are often designed specifically for that one company and are very expensive. The agreement often consists of a certain number of users with the company purchasing more licenses or copies of the software during expansions or paying some sort of royalties for the use of the software. The purchasing companies agree to this and then more often than not fail to honor that agreement. The agreement is what allows this company to use that software, this agreement is what allows that permission. When companies aren't living up to their end of this agreement they are not only guilty of breaching that agreement but also of breaking software copyright laws. The trouble always lies in proving that they are not honoring the contract and the extent and duration of the breach. Some of the ways that companies will argue in defense of them not paying the royalties, additional fees, purchasing additional software, etc. is that they upgraded computers and reused the old software (they did actually purchase the rights to use the original software and by doing so feel that they have broken no software copyright laws) the problem lies in the fact that adding ten new computers and placing the software on those should mean that you remove it from or get rid of 10 old computers. This is rarely how it works. So now they've basically stolen ten copies of software that can be well worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Multiply this by 10, 20, or 100 companies trying this or worse each year and the offending companies are costing software developers millions of dollars in profits. This is when software copyright laws are not as far reaching in their scope as they really need to be. Software copyright laws exist to protect the software companies from this type of abuse and misuse, however, the hands of the companies are almost unilaterally tied when it comes to proving that software copyright laws have been broken in court. There are always exceptions to every rule. In this case big business software developers that abuse the software copyright laws to the point of breaking make the exceptions rather than miserly consumers that do not wish to pay for the products they are consuming. The big boys are able to do this by offering licenses for their software and claiming that these laws do not apply to their situation because they are not actually selling the software only 'renting' out permission for people or companies to 'use' that software. The true irony is that these practices began as a response to the corporate irresponsibility mentioned above. It's amazing that the very software copyright laws that were created to protect these companies can't protect their consumers from the greed of the developing companies. Copyright lawyer support service Things a Copyright Lawyer Support Service Covers There are a few things every copyright lawyer support service should cover and those are summaries of any cases that are currently ongoing. This is a way that the client and the copyright lawyer stay up-to-date and should something new come up they know all about it. You would have to be going up for an issue you think has only been ruled one way until last week, however if you were you would know because of the copyright lawyer support service would be right in front of you. In this you would find the court case and number, the day it was held, who the judge was and the representing attorneys plus a summary of what the case was actually about. See how much information a copyright lawyer support service gives you? Now you will know if it is a new lawyer or someone that you are already familiar with, which is good especially if you will be going up against them. A client or a lawyer may find themselves wanting to look into the archives of the copyright lawyer support service if one is available. There are always a ton of gems from the past that can help someone out, maybe there is a copyright case that others forgot about. This is when a lawyer would be able to quote the case number and know exactly what it was about and could share it with the others. There aren’t just one or two different copyright lawyer support service, no you can find just about as many as there are lawyers. Think of every one that has been to a court hearing, or that was ruled outside of court for years, plus the many that haven’t even gone forward yet. An entire firm may have one or a copyright lawyer that is working on their own. It doesn’t matter exactly who it is, only that they are there to support YOU. Another copyright lawyer support service may actually be that they are there to help you fill out an application, whether it is online or in their office. If you have questions call their help line or your lawyer and find out what you should do. Or you may just want to use the service to copy your copyright right there in front of you and not have to make an appointment to do it. These days copyright lawyer support service is getting much better and faster, due to the ever growing demand of their own services. A service may also include a list of recommended copyright lawyers as well as all the summaries of current cases. What better way to find the lawyer you need than to get one that is highly praised in a document that provides you with so much information. A lawyer will learn exactly what they need to do to help you if they read a copyright lawyer support service very carefully. They’ll barely have to do much research once this is in front of them, all they have to do is read the page and find out how the lawyer did it. Due to the internet changing so frequently so does copyright laws and the best way to keep up is by following along with the copyright lawyer support service. Sure they are there to support you but they are also there to support the lawyers. It is a great service for everyone involved but it won’t help a single person if you aren’t aware that it is out there. |