Copying and Plagiarism

Submitted by Lata on Wed, 2010-03-24 23:49 My Gallery

One of the things that I do ceremoniously, as part of publishing the submitted rangolis, is to verify the work to make sure that it is original work and not plagiarized. This actually takes up quite a bit of my time too and is needed to maintain the quality of the site.

Sometimes, there isn’t much we can do about giving credit to the designs we make that are inspired by store-bought series of kolam books or note-books passed on down the familial line. Both the former and the latter fall under the “unknown author” category. But, when we consider the freehand kolams/rangolis originally designed by other people, we can certainly give credit to them by mentioning the name of the person and/or website. Also, it might be better to ask for permission prior to integrating another person’s original work into our works.

According to most people experienced with the cyberworld, plagiarism entails not only the act of copying but also the presentation of another’s ideas as one’s own. There have been cases of plagiarism here at iKolam over the years. Members have posted plagiarized images from other sites here, and iKolam members have plagiarized our members’ images and posted them elsewhere too. At iKolam, we always give the benefit of the doubt, and send a message to the owner whom we suspect has committed plagiarism. And we have about 70% success rate in making somebody realize and fix the mistakes. We have also not denied access to members to the site, who have plagiarized in any way till date.

I have provided two examples of work which are considered plagiarized. Image 1 is completely hand drawn by me, but the idea belongs to another ikolam member and I have not mentioned source of the idea, thus giving the impression that this is my original work. Image 2 is the direct copy of the original file that belongs to some body else.

In the case of Image 1, if I had properly specified my source details as follows (for example)

Image-source: Mr. JK Mohana Rao
http://www.ikolam.com/node/10923
Website: ikolam.com

then I am not plagiarizing.

In the case of Image 2, it is just plain wrong and unethical.

Comments

brindhanagesh's picture

brindhanagesh

Thu, 2010-03-25 03:37

லதா, நீங்கள் சொல்வது நூற்றுக்கு நூறு உண்மை. நம்முடைய உடமையை வேறு ஒருவர் தனதாக்கி கொள்வது மிகவும் தவறானது. (மனதுக்கு கஷ்டமானதும் கூட) ஆனால் இந்த சைபர் உலகில் எதை வேண்டுமானாலும் எளிதில் செய்யலாம். அதனால் நாம்தான் மிகவும் கவனமாக இருக்க வேண்டும். நாமும், நம்மை சேர்ந்தவர்களும் (இகோலம் உறுப்பினர்கள்) அவ்வாறு செய்யாமல் இருப்போம் :). நன்றி.

jayamohan's picture

jayamohan

Thu, 2010-03-25 06:53

சொல்லிட்டு ( காபி) அடிக்க சொல்றீங்களா?

dibbutn's picture

dibbutn

Thu, 2010-03-25 06:54

Lata, just a clarification, some of my kolams I submit are either from weekly magazines or from my personal collection which I have collected over many many years (say from childhood). In one of my kolams I have mentioned that my kolams are from Aval Vigadan or some weekly magazine but the problem here is sometimes I just copy the kolams from the magazines onto my collection of kolams and after a very long time when I actually get to do these on floor, I forget whether they are copied from the magazine or are from my collection. In such a case what do I do. I have mentioned though in one of kolams that most of the kolams are given to me by my mother from her magazines. So do let me know what I can do about this.

jkmrao's picture

jkmrao

Thu, 2010-03-25 18:56

1) Internet is very useful to connect, learn and enjoy.
2) Internet is very useful to copy, imitate and cause distress.
3) Whatever anybody writes and publishes on the internet has a copyright, even if not explicitly mentioned.
4) It is very difficult to trace who has copied from where.
5) The moment one views anything on the screen, even though downloading is disabled, it is always possible to take a screen shot.
6) Having on the computer is different. Let us say I am giving a talk on rangOli and I want to display lakshmIjI's rangOli. Even if I somehow have it on my computer, I cannot use it without her permission.
7) Except for designs created by an individual using his / her creative intellect, most of the rangOli designs are handed to us over generations. It is a cultural heredity. Enforcing a copyright in such cases is quite difficult. The original design is not copyrighted. But if it is coloured by you, then your image is protected by the copyright. Shakepeare's dramas have no copyright. But if somebody writes a criticism on them, it has a copyright.
Dirol Many a time, I found some of my literary works elsewhere without my consent. I always grin and reflect that that is not the only work I did.
9) Personally, if I have to use a photograph or a song in my articles, I do take permission. Normally, if one explains the purpose, most of the time the concerned people happily agree. Any help, even minute, must always be acknowledged.
10) If we are aware of a work, we must quote it, at least tangentially.
11) Even in the case quoted above left by latAjI, permission must be taken from the original author and the (ikOlam) website.
12) The interesting thing is, if tomorrow I want to publish my own ikOlam work in a book, I must take permission from the website, which is normally granted Smile and also mention in the book these were originally published there. But, if the website gives money for publishing, then they can refuse permission.
13) A bigger discussion goes on in the realm of music and films. Many songs are available on the youtube and other sites within a short time after the release of the albums or DVDs.

Regards! - mOhana