Concerns have been raised in the media by some opponents of the Copyright Amendment Bill that Section 12B(1)(a) will promote plagiarism. They have suggested that researchers’ works will not be cited, and that the important role that citations play in academic scholarship will be undermined. This viewpoint is myopic and incorrect.

Section 12B (1)(a) of the Copyright Amendment Bill 2017, permits quotation as follows:

Copyright in a work shall not be infringed by any of the following acts:

(a) Any quotation: Provided that—

(i) the extent thereof shall not exceed the extent reasonably justified by the purpose; and

(ii) to the extent that it is practicable, the source and the name of the author, if it appears on or in the work, shall be mentioned in the quotation;

Other sub-clauses in Section 12B also make provision for acknowledgement of the source to the extent that it is practicable. This does not suggest or mean that works may be used without proper acknowledgement. For practicable and practical purposes, it does however, require that in order for someone to successfully acknowledge the work, the source and author’s name must appear on or in the work.

Section 12(3) of the current Copyright Act No. 98 of 1978 (as amended) permits quotation as follows:

The copyright in a literary or musical work which is lawfully available to the public shall not be infringed by any quotation therefrom, including any quotation from articles in newspapers or periodicals. Provided that the quotation shall be compatible with fair practice, that the extent thereof shall not exceed the extent’ justified by the purpose and that· the source shall be mentioned, as well as the name of the author if it appears on the work.

Copyright infringement is a construct of the law, and punishable in terms of national copyright legislation. Plagiarism in essence is not a criminal offence, but it is unlawful if an author or creator’s intellectual property rights are infringed. Plagiarism is a construct of ethics, based on accepted international and community standards. In academia, plagiarism is a violation of academic integrity. There are many definitions for plagiarism, but it is basically ‘using and presenting someone else’s work as one’s own, without properly crediting the original author and source’. Plagiarism is academic dishonesty or academic misconduct. It is regarded as a serious offence and is punishable in accordance with the ethics policies and/or disciplinary codes of academic and related institutions. The consequences of plagiarism can be severe for academic staff or students, for example, temporary or permanent suspension or expulsion from the institution, withdrawal of a degree, funding or scholarship, 0 percent for an assignment, community service, heavy fines or other penalties.

Acknowledgement of sources is not dependent on or determined by a provision in the copyright law. Whether the copyright law prescribes it or not, proper acknowledgement is an internationally accepted obligation and practice in academic and related institutions. Researchers, educators, students, as well as authors and publishers, who use extracts from a third party’s work, whether for educational, research, commercial or other purposes, are obliged to appropriately acknowledge the source. Acknowledgement is required whether the work is published or unpublished, protected by copyright or out of copyright, or licensed under a Creative Commons or similar open licence. The basic requirement of Creative Commons licences is attribution, so without attribution, the licence would be invalid. This would mean that use of that work would be a copyright infringement and plagiarism.

Not everything requires acknowledgement. There are instances where acknowledgement is not necessary, for example, when using information that is common knowledge, generally-accepted facts, scientific truths, and history dates and events (not historical documents or archival records).

To ensure their staff and students comply with the rules of plagiarism, many academic and related institutions give training and provide guidelines on citation and how to avoid plagiarism.

For more information about plagiarism and citation, see this Libguide.