2016 World Book and Copyright Day

2016 WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY: PLAGIARISM ON MY MIND

    Today Saturday 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 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 volumes as regards its identification; though in some cases, like in the movie or music sector, two books authored by different writers might coincidentally 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 boosted; 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 which has eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian society.

     The production of fake works which is on the rampage in Nigeria is solely attributed to the ongoing alarming pace of plagiarism. It is longer news that plagiarism has indeed endangered the wellbeing of millions 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 futile and worthless.  

     So, as the global community marks the World Book and Copyright Day, the ANA and other indigenous authorship associations are 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) with a view to fighting the scourge squarely. In view of this, the concerned groups ought to carry out a holistic campaign towards conscientizing 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. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Researcher, Blogger, Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

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frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056