Barely more than a day after Apple Inc. announced its new iPhone, a lawsuit is already pending from Cisco Systems for trademark infringement.
While we're not qualified to make a decision about who owns iPhone, the lawsuit brings up an issue that Ball State University students should be aware of. With a brand new semester ahead of us, it is important to once again realize that plagiarism and copyright infringement are very tangible problems that carry very real consequences.
Here at Ball State, when plagiarism is detected, the department where the infraction took place and university have to decide a proper punishment. This punishment could be anything from a slap on the wrist to dismissal from the university.
Apple and Cisco might have the time, money and lawyers to go to court in an attempt to find out who really owns the rights to the iPhone name, but college students don't have that option.
Students can only protect themselves against the consequences of plagiarism by not plagiarizing in the first place. This may seem like a fairly simple solution that wouldn't be too difficult to attain, but for anyone who has suffered a sleepless night to finish a paper, plagiarism might seem like a viable option.
Some cases of plagiarism may be totally accidental, and the punishment might be unfounded. Good luck proving that to the university. Any time a student is caught trying to pass of work that is not their own in class, knowingly or not, there is a good chance nasty consequences will show up in the near future.
Some might have heard about the student who willingly plagiarized the entire semester without getting caught, and received an A for their work to boot. Problem is, it's always a friend of a friend's sister's brother who did it. In other words, it's unlikely that plagiarized work is going to go unnoticed.
Apple might have made the decision that fighting a court battle was worth more than any deal they could have made, but by the time plagiarism is detected there is no time for students to do anything but hope, let alone make any deals.
The new semester offers a clean slate for every student. Plagiarism might seem like an unlikely option now, but students need to make sure they don't use other work as their own under any circumstances, sleepless nights or not.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
