Today Thursday April 23, the world over is commemorating the World Book
and Copyright Day. It was on this day – April 23 in the year 1616 that some
prominent authors including Cervantes, Shakespeare, and Inca Garcilaso Vega
left the world; it is also the date of birth or death of other global literary
icons like Maurice Druon, Haldor K. Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and
Manuel Mejia Vallejo.
It was a natural choice for the General Conference of the United Nations
Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held in Paris in 1995,
to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors on this date in order to
encourage everyone, particularly young people, to discover the pleasure of
reading as well as gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions
of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity. In
this regard, UNESCO created the World Book and Copyright Day.
A book is a collection of pieces
of paper comprising a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets
made of ink, parchment and other materials, usually fastened together to hinge
at one side. In the same vein, copyright can be defined as the legal prerogative
of ownership and exclusive distribution of any creative work such as article,
book, music or movie originally done by a person or a group of persons.
On the other hand, plagiarism is the illicit practice of using or
copying someone else’s idea or creative work and the impersonation of its
ownership. In other words, plagiarism is an unauthorized and unlawful faking or
imitation of thoughts or works that are already legally credited to a person or
group. Suffice to say; plagiarism, which is popularly known as piracy, is a
criminal act that is punishable by law.
A text-filled book, which could be either in a printed or electronic
format, is often a product of creativity. In some cases where it has to do with
poetry, prose or drama, it is referred to as work of literature or a main
division of such work. In Library and Information Science, a book is called a
monograph to distinguish it from serial periodicals to include magazines,
journals or newspapers.
A book could be majorly classified into two namely, academic and
literary. An academic book is one that is written on a certain subject or about
a particular area whilst a literary book is mainly a creative work that is
written with the knowledge of literature. Irrespective of its class, just as
anything under the sun can be identified by one or two idiosyncrasies, the
unique or basic features of any book include the content, authorship, the ISBN,
its title and cover page, among others.
No doubt, every book has a unique content regardless of its size or
number of pages. Likewise a movie or music, a book may go beyond a particular
edition or version, hence can transcend to additional two or more editions
based on the choice of the author or the kind of message intended to be
conveyed by it. The content of any book is expected to be original; in the
sense that, it must be the initiative of the acclaimed author/writer.
Also, any book must be authored by one or two persons and as long as the
book lasts, the specified author(s) remain the rightful owner of the
intellectual property. Needless to say; no part of such publication would be
reproduced or translated to any other language, or even transmitted in any form
or by any means without the authorization or written permission of the author
or publisher as the case might be.
The International Serial Book Number (ISBN) is another unique feature or
mode of identification of any book. The ISBN of a published compilation, which
is widely regarded as its individual identification number, is the only globally
recognized means of identifying a text-filled book. Thus, any published book is
entitled to a certain ISBN which will never be allocated or assigned to any
other publication across the globe. Even if the book in question is expected to
have a subsequent edition/version in future, each of the additional editions,
when published, would be entitled to different ISBNs.
Furthermore, the title and the cover
page of a book speak volume as regards its identification; though in some
cases, not unlike in the movie or music sector, two books authored by different
writers might comprised of the same or similar title. In a situation of
coincidence of titles or where two/more publications of different authors
comprise the same title, the books involved would be contrasted by the names of
the respective authors. Apart from other
features of a book, it is noteworthy that, its title and cover page are the
major recipes that attract the target audience, especially in a situation where
the name of the author is relatively new in the system. This is the reason most
notable authors pay much attention while creating a title for their works. Due
to the significance or delicacy attached to titling of a book or any creative
work, sometimes the title of a work in progress may be yet to be created by the
author/inventor until the work is duly completed.
Taking a painstaking consideration of the aforementioned features of a
book, there is no gain reiterating the fact that book publication is all about
creativity. Surely, it is obvious that every aspect of book compilation coupled
with its publication cum printing thoroughly deals with originality which is
the basic element of any creative work.
Apparently, the societal impact of a book cannot be overemphasized. It
is through a book that a literate society is formed; it is through a book that
an awaited civilized society is actualized; through a book, an intellectual
group can be created; of course through a book, the socio-economic level of a
nation can be uplifted or boasted; it is through a book that a nation can
actualized its utmost desire; and it is
through a book that a leader can be made; above all, it is a book that can
guarantee optimum peace and unity in any society.
This is why those who are widely
read such as the likes of late Marcus Tullius Cicero and Jane Austen would
always tell you that “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Or
that “A person, be it gentleman or lady, who has no pleasure in a good novel
must be intolerably stupid.” It was the late Jorge Luis Borges that said “I
have always imagined that paradise would be a kind of library.” In the same
vein, Lemony Snicket stated “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with
them.”
Considering the indelible role of a book in any society, there is need
to fiercely safeguard the copyright of a book or any other creative work such
as music or movie. Against this backdrop, as the world commemorates the World
Book and Copyright Day, I enjoin every group in Nigeria concerning authorship
such as the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Nigerian Copyright
Commission (NCC), Nigerian Literacy Society (NLS), and many others to join in
the crusade towards the complete eradication of plagiarism.
The production of fake works which
is on rampage in Nigeria is solely attributed to the ongoing alarming pace of
plagiarism. It is longer news that plagiarism has indeed endangered the lives
of thousands of creative persons across the globe thereby constituting apathy
among prospective writers or artistes as the case may be. This singular fact is
the reason many incoming/potential creative individuals have chosen to remain
idle rather than embarking on a venture that would end-up being worthless.
ANA and other indigenous authorship associations is expected to form a synergy
with other related societies such as the Performing Musicians Association of
Nigeria (PMAN) and the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) in order to fight the
scourge squarely and with a dogged approach. In view of this, the concerned
groups ought to urge the legislators to enact a strict law that would assign
capital punishment to anyone found guilty of any form of piracy by any court of
competent jurisdiction.
Among all, no one is meant to sit
on the fence towards the elimination of this cankerworm that constitutes
colossal individual and national economic menace. On the other hand and most
importantly, the parents, guardians, counsellors, various teachers at all
levels, and what have you, must take the act of imparting and uplifting reading
culture among our young ones very seriously. In addition, reading should be
regarded by all and sundry as the only practice that can guarantee absolute
literacy as well as intellectual ability. And we can’t afford to be left behind
regarding the said qualities. Think about it!
COMR FRED DOC
NWAOZOR
(The Media Ambassador)_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056
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