Today,
Monday, April 23, the world over is commemorating the 2018 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.
Aside 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 2018 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. The time to act is now. Think about it!
Comrade Fred Nwaozor
Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub (DRH) - Owerri_______________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056
Twitter: @mediambassador
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