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A Brief Look at Plagiarism in India

Significance of Plagiarism Detection Tool in India

Plagiarism is a form of stealing. It occurs when someone uses another person’s work without providing proper credit. The idea of plagiarism is quite old. It has increased in the digital age. Too much availability of information is the reason behind it.

Most countries have taken a strict stand against plagiarism. India is not an exception. Plagiarism in India directly does not come under the law. However, it comes under the Copyright Act on most occasions. It can also have adverse effects on the career of the content creator. The writers can use plagiarism detection tools. It can help them to avoid any form of plagiarism in India.

Why is Plagiarism Checking Important?

The concept of plagiarism is not new, but acknowledging it as an intellectual theft is somewhat relatively new. With technological advances, digital platforms are getting much preference as a publishing medium.

Many students and researchers do not have a clear idea about plagiarism. Hence, they may end up copying parts of an article and use it under their name without any credit. Similar things may happen to music, paintings, photographs as well. On occasions, many people intentionally plagiarise, considering that it may not get noticed.

Both the writer and publisher are responsible for a plagiarised article. The reader can quickly check any text for duplicate content using a plagiarism detection tool. Suppose an article has some duplicate or copied content. In that case, it can affect the writer’s career or the academic progress of the student.

The website that has published the work instantly removes it as it may decrease its traffic. The writer may lose his readership and can also end up losing his credibility.

How Search Engines Treat Copied Content?

Search Engines like Google takes the idea of copied content seriously. For better user experience, they remove any site with similar content.

The webpage gets a lower SEO rank, and hence it may not appear in the search result. For this reason, the website owners and publishers must check for copied content before publishing any article.

For blogs, the bloggers must be careful about posting any copied content, and therefore they must use plagiarism detection tools. If they are using blogs to promote products or online marketing, they may lose their trustworthiness.

As for online business, the website or blog posts create an initial impression. The product may fail to grab the attention of the audience.

Plagiarism is a Serious Matter in Educational Institutes

Nowadays, schools, universities, and other educational institutions are taking plagiarism seriously. Therefore, students must be careful while producing an article. They must stay away from any sort of copied content. Suppose they use parts of writing to substantiate their argument.

They must put those lines within quotation marks and do a proper citation for the same. Even if they are using one of their previous work, they must mention it in the citation. If the students submit their projects or papers with plagiarized content, the institution can take steps against them.

They may mark the student with a failing grade, and apart from that, they can take actions based on their educational policies. When it comes to plagiarism in India, many institutions prefer to take severe steps instead of a legal one.

Plagiarism in India for Art Forms

In the case of art forms, plagiarism in India works differently. For the stories, music, paintings, and videos, other people can sue them if not copyrighted.

If the artwork is with copyright, then nobody can use it without the permission of the artist. However, the artist can copy his work or use the same work with some alterations.

Though this is somewhat similar to self-plagiarism, in India, this is regarded as a modification as the artist is considered the owner of his/her works.

Know About Varied Types of Plagiarism in India

  • Potluck plagiarism:  On occasions, the content creators take parts from different sources. After that, they form their content out of it. For this type of plagiarism, most of the content remains the same. The style may seem incoherent.
  • The photocopy: It is a kind of mosaic plagiarism. The content creator may copy portions of the original writing to use. In this case, the writer does not change the content much.
  • Self-stealing/ self-plagiarism: This is the recycling of one’s work. In India, it is not plagiarism. As the author is the owner of his/her creation. S/he has every right to alter his/her work.
  • Direct plagiarism: This is one of the most severe types of plagiarism. If the content creator is entirely using the work of another writer without any change. However, using it under his/her name. Also, not citing the source of the work.

Law Related to Plagiarism

Plagiarism in India is more like a moral issue and not a legal one. Therefore a writer can only take legal action against copyright violation, not for all sorts of plagiarism. The use of any copyrighted content without permission leads to copyright infringement. It is much different from plagiarism itself.

Section 57 of the ‘Indian Copyright Act’ allows the author an exclusive right. It offers the author protection against any unauthorized use of his work, including plagiarism.

Section 63 of the act considers copyright infringement as a criminal offense. The punishment may include imprisonment for 6 months to 3 years. On occasions, there may be some monetary compensation.

Why is Plagiarism in India a Criminal Offense?

Plagiarism in India does not mainly come under any law. In India, the Copyright Act stops any tamper with the original work.

Violation of the ‘Copyright Act’ may lead to punishment if the original author decides to file a lawsuit. In such a case, the author may get protection against any further infringement and illegal distributions. The author may ask for compensation if there is any damage to the artwork.

In educational institutions, plagiarism can be punished with a failing grade or even a suspension. It depends on the policies of the institution. To avoid Plagiarism in India, the content creator can use anti-plagiarism tools.

How Can Plagiarism Detection Tool help?

It is necessary to use plagiarism software to check for plagiarism before submitting any work or research paper. The tools identify the duplicate parts in any article and also generate the percentage plagiarism.

The writer can use quotation marks and do a proper citation to avoid plagiarism. Acknowledging the author of the source is the only defense. The writers who value their paper should use plagiarism detection tools. It can help them to create an original paper.

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