Theory and practice of intellectual property
№ 6 / 2018

ISSN (Print) 2308-0361
ISSN (Online) 2519-2744

PDF (Ukrainian)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33731/62018.160978

Published      2018-12-26

Violations in the field of copyright: incorrect citation and plagiarism

Kateryna Semeniuk
Ukraine

Abstract
The paper addresses common violations of copyright law: incorrect (unlawful) citation and plagiarism. These violations have certain common features, but the author’s paper aims to differentiate them through comparison; investigates individual problem issues arising when quoting, which can lead to violations or when identifying unlawful borrowings (plagiarism); analyses national legislation and international documents that have been ratified by Ukraine or to which Ukraine has joined, as well as judicial practice. The results obtained indicate that incorrect (unlawful) citation includes: non-compliance with the requirements of the citation volume; quoting small volumes works without respecting good customs; citing works that were unlawfully published; use of quotations in scientific works without observance of the general rules of citation; use of quotations without informational, critical, polemical, scientific purpose; wrongful, unlawful or incorrect author indication of the borrowed excerpt or sours of borrowing. While plagiarism is: not indicating the name of the author and the use of a passage of someone else’s work under one’s own name, or when the author who borrowed the passage indicates the name of the person, except his own name, who is not the author of this work or a part thereof. Plagiarism is the appropriation of others’ creative activity results, while the incorrect (unlawful) quotation only violates the limits and conditions of permissible free use of others works established by the current legislation. In the author’s paper provides a general theoretical and practical characteristic of each individual case of making incorrect (unlawful) citation and plagiarism; indicates that incorrect (unlawful) citation and plagiarism may lead to a violation of personal non-proprietary and exclusively property rights of the author, human rights or academic integrity, and therefore require special attention in indicating these offences and in conducting further research. In addition, it should be remembered that non-compliance with certain requirements of the legislation concerning conditions for the free use of quotations does not imply violation by the author of copyright legislation. In addition, there are cases of involuntary plagiarism, which can not be considered a violation of copyright. Therefore, despite the considerable amount of scientific works devoted to preventing and detecting plagiarism, as well as adherence to the conditions for the free use of quotations, the issue of differentiation of incorrect (unlawful) citation and plagiarism is rather controversial and relevant. The author draws attention to the fact that the solution of the matter whether the work contains plagiarism or incorrect (unlawful) quotation is solely imposed on the competence of the court based on the expert’s conclusion. In order to eliminate possible differences in the practical application of the rules governing the use of others’ creative results for one’s own creative work, it is appropriate to develop common guidelines that can be applied both in the academic environment and in the arts, in view of ensuring a private and public balance of interests. This will create a solid foundation for further cultural, scientific, innovative, artistic development of the country.

Keywords: copyright law, free use, cite, incorrect citation, unlawful citation, plagiarism