What Legal Implications Arise from Plagiarism?

Plagiarism carries serious legal implications, primarily associated with copyright infringement, academic integrity, and professional ethics. 

Introduction: Plagiarism

One of the major concerns in today’s digitalisation is plagiarism. It is defined as an ‘IP theft’, under the ‘Intellectual Property’. Every internet information intends to assist in gaining knowledge, yet a few people exist to exploit the ideas of others. Even if someone tries to prevent their work from being plagiarized through technology, the reason will be more advanced technology. For example, if we use any code to prevent copying ( eg, an article), people can still plagiarize easily through the features of Google Lens, scan documents etc.

Understanding Plagiarism: What Constitutes Plagiarized Content?

Plagiarism is derived from the Latin term plagiarius, which means "kidnapper". It means to steal someone’s intellectual property with or without giving credit to the original owner or the author. Also, it refers to stealing someone’s idea or copying it without their consent. Plagiarism can be done in any article, bar graph, paragraph, design, research paper, and many more. The theft can occur by stealing content from the web.

Types of Plagiarism

• Complete plagiarism occurs when the researcher extracts the whole manuscript or the content of another work and names it under them.
• Verbatim plagiarism is said to be the most commonly observed theft. It can be performed by using the basic tool of copying and pasting from another work without granting credit.
• Though self-plagiarism is not considered an offence in India, it refers to an author using the same subject from prior work.
• Paraphrasing plagiarism means paraphrasing someone’s idea into our words without giving any credit.
• Accidental plagiarism occurs when the person doesn’t have any intention to exploit others' work.

Legal Implications of Plagiarism

No legal implications are there for such an offence but Sections 57 and 63 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, play a major role as follows:

Section 57 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 states that any author, even after the assignment, either wholly or partially, has the right to claim authorship of the work, restrain or claim damages in respect of distortion, mutilation, modification, or any other act that infringes his right, and such rights can also be exercised by the author’s legal representative.

However, the author can’t restrain or claim damages for any adaptation of a computer program according to Section 52(1) of the Act.

Section 63 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 states that any person who knowingly infringes any copyrighted work shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term that shall not be less than six months but can be extended to three years and a fine that shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees and can be extended to two lakh rupees. Also, if the infringement has not been done for any gain, then the court shall impose a sentence of imprisonment of less than six months or a fine of less than fifty thousand.

Academic Consequences of Plagiarism

The University Grants Commission had constituted a committee that looked into plagiarism-related matters. The committee drafted a regulation that promotes academic integrity and prevents plagiarism in higher education institutions.

University Grants Commission (Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2018

Regulation 6 deals with ways to curb plagiarism. Some of the important aspects of Regulation 6 are as follows:

• All higher education institutions shall implement a mechanism to detect plagiarism.
• Every student shall submit an undertaking along with the script that their work is original and doesn’t constitute any plagiarized work.
• All the faculty shall grant plagiarism detection tools.
• The institutions shall create plagiarism policies that the relevant bodies must approve.
• All supervisors shall grant a certificate stating that the student’s work doesn’t constitute plagiarised content.
• The institutions will set up an online repository for dissertations, papers, publications, and all other in-house publications.

Regulation 12.2 prescribes Penalties in case of plagiarism in academic and research publications

I) Level 0: Similarities up to 10% - Minor similarities, no penalty

II) Level 1: Similarities above 10% to 40%

• Shall be asked to withdraw the manuscript.

III) Level 2: Similarities above 40% to 60%

• Shall be asked to withdraw the manuscript.
• Shall be denied a right to one annual increment.
• Shall not be allowed to be a supervisor to any new Master’s, M.Phil., Ph.D. Student/scholar for a period of two years.

IV) Level 3: Similarities above 60%

i) Shall be asked to withdraw manuscript.

ii) Shall be denied a right to two successive annual increments.

iii) Shall not be allowed to be a supervisor to any new Master’s, M.Phil., Ph.D. Student/scholar for a period of three years. 

Preventing Plagiarism: Best Practices for Writers and Researchers

• Proper Citation: Always provide credit to the original author’s work and properly attribute paraphrased content through appropriate citations.
• Thorough Research: Maintain proper notes of all the sources consulted.
• Original Writing: Develop your unique writing style and original ideas.
• Use Plagiarism Detection Tools: These tools help to review the plagiarised content in the work.
• Follow the Guidelines: Understand the rules that have been stated by your institution or organisation.

Tools and Resources to Detect Plagiarism

• Turnitin
• Copyscape
• Plagscan
• Quetext
• Plagiarism Checker by Search Engine Reports
• Scribbr 
• Unicheck

Conclusion

Plagiarism is a serious ethical violation that undermines the value of genuine effort and innovation. Beyond the immediate penalties—academic failure, legal consequences, and professional disgrace—plagiarism erodes personal integrity and trust. Upholding originality and integrity ensures the respect and progress of our collective knowledge and creative expression, reinforcing the importance of honesty in all our endeavours.

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