EXPUNGING PLAGIARISM FROM NIGERIA AS WE CELEBRATE THE 2017 WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY
Today Sunday 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, Joseph 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.
So, as Nigeria joins the global community to mark the 2017 World Book
and Copyright Day, the 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 in any existing society. And we can’t
afford to be left behind regarding the said qualities. Think about it!
Comrade FDN Nwaozor
Follow: @mediambassador
http://facebook.com/fred4nwaozor
