Software+Piracy,+Plagiarism

Copyright Concerns for Students and Teachers Teachers and students have always been subject to the laws governing copyright, but it has become a bigger concern with the access to material that technology allows.Most of us were shocked to hear about the Minnesota mom who was fined $1.5 million for illegally downloading 24 songs from an internet music site (Kreps, 2010, p.1). She knew that what she was doing was illegal, but she never expected to be caught, and certainly did not expect such a hefty punishment. This section of the handbook to to help our students and teachers avoid something like that happening to them.

Fair Use

Many teachers are familiar with the idea of fair use. Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work, is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders ("Fair Use", 2011, para. 1). As applied in education, fair use generally means that teachers can use copyrighted material in their classrooms, according to the following guidelines, excerpted from the Stanford University Library Fair Use Policy (NOLO, 2007):

For Teachers Teachers may make one copy of any of the following:  • A chapter from a book  • An article from a newspaper or magazine  • A short story (fewer than 2,500 words), short essay (fewer than 2,500 words) or short poem (fewer than 250 words), but not more than one from the same author in a class term  • An excerpt of no more than 1000 words from a longer work, or 10% of that work, whichever is less  • One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a single book, newspaper or magazine.  Teachers may copy articles to handout in class, with the following restrictions:  • Classroom copying cannot be used to replace texts or workbooks.  • Students cannot be charged more than the cost of copying.  • The number of copies cannot exceed one copy per student.  • A notice of copyright must be affixed to each copy. General rules • Teachers have more freedom to copy from newspapers or magazines if the copying is related to current events.  • The idea to make the copies must come from the teacher, not from higher authorities  • Only nine (9) instances of such copying for one course during one school term are permitted <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • The idea to make the copies and their actual classroom use must be so close together in time it would be unreasonable to expect timely reply in a permission request. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • Teachers may not photocopy workbook, texts, standardized tests, or other materials that were created for educational use. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> It is not considered FAIR USE if the copying provides replacements or substitutes for the purchase of books, periodicals, tests, workbooks, anthologies, or collective works. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> The educational use guidelines can be found in Circular 21, provided by the Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf).

Software Piracy

What is software piracy? <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Software piracy is the unauthorized use of software. It includes the illegal duplication of copyrighted software or the installation of copyrighted software on more computers than authorized under terms of the software license agreement ("Software piracy," 2009). Be sure you understand the licensing agreement for any and all software you are using. In general, you may expect the following: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • When you purchase software, you are not purchasing the copyright for it, only the right to use it. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • Most licensing agreements allow you to install the software on one computer and make one backup copy. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • Use on additional machines will require an additional license. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • The software used in the school is licensed only for the computers on which it is installed. You may not make copies for personal use. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • If caught, you face a fine up to $250,000 and up to five years in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

Plagiarism

For Students <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Most students think they have a good understanding of what plagiarism is. If you copy someone else’s work, it’s plagiarism. But, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2011), to plagiarize is: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • to use (another's production) without crediting the source <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • to commit literary theft <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> This is a broader definition of plagiarism as it includes the use of others’ ideas and also includes using information without crediting the source. An excellent resource for students is the website Plagiarism.org. According to them, all of the following are examples of plagiarism: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • turning in someone else's work as your own <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • failing to put a quotation in quotation marks <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not

Some tips for avoiding plagiarism come from Brighthub.com: <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Don't look at your source while you are writing. Instead, get the information you need from your source, then put it aside. This practice forces you to use your own words. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • Other than direct quotes, never, ever copy and paste text directly from a website into your own document. It can accidentally find its way into your own text. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • If you use a direct quote, always use quotation marks and then indicate the source. The citation usually takes the form of either an endnote or a short note in parentheses. The complete citation is found at the end of the paper in a section with a title like "Works Cited" or "References." Check with your instructor to find out what citation style to use. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> • If you want to use a section of text from your source that is more than about six words long, you normally must use quotation marks and a citation. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/homework-tips/articles/39394.aspx#ixzz1DBjuRHGt

One final tip:

<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Any time you copy a section of text from a website and paste it into your document, you are setting yourself up for a plagiarism charge. Either plan to place the entire section in quotation marks with a complete citation, or DON’T COPY AND PASTE!

For Teachers <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Plagiarism.org is an excellent resource for teachers as well. Articles on why students plagiarize, different types of plagiarism and basic copyright laws are all well worth reading. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> While there are tools available for purchase to check for student plagiarism (such as Turnitin), a free and readily accessible tool is Google. Simply copy and paste the suspected text into the Google search bar and see what comes up!