Is plagiarism a crime?

Much has been said recently about plagiarism.

Everyone (even serial plagiarists) knows what
it is. It is, simply put, stealing somebody’s
idea and pretending that it is your own. It is
intellectual theft. It breaks the commandment
“Thou shalt not steal.”

It is definitely a sin, but is it a crime?

Let me refer to the law that governs

intellectual property, namely, Republic Act
No. 8293, known as the “Intellectual Property
Code of the Philippines.” It was passed by the
Tenth Congress, one of whose members was a
certain Vicente Castelo Sotto III.

Chapter 10 of the law talks about the Moral

Rights of an author. Section 193 talks of the
Scope of Moral Rights, which includes the
right “to require that the authorship of the
works be attributed to him, in particular, the
right that his name, as far as practicable, be
indicated in a prominent way on the copies,
and in connection with the public use of his
work.”

The law clearly provides that the name of the

author should be prominently mentioned when
his or her work is used publicly. In other
words, even if I made a blanket statement that
everything I said in a particular work was
taken from the work of others, that does not
satisfy the requirement of the law. I have to
mention the name of the author from which I
took my words or ideas.
Section 198 further provides that “the rights
of an author under this chapter (Chapter 10)
shall last during the lifetime of the author
and for fifty (50) years after his death and
shall not be assignable or subject to
license.” If the author is still alive, I have
no choice but to mention his or her name when
I take words or ideas from him.

Why ideas? Because plagiarism does not involve

only words. It also involves ideas. If I added
or altered a word here or there, or even if
all my words were different from those of the
original author, I would still be committing
plagiarism if the idea is the same. This is
the main difference between copyright and
plagiarism. Copyright protects the expression
of an idea or the exact words of the original
author. The prohibition against plagiarism
protects the idea itself, no matter how it is
expressed.

Therefore, using different words or even a

different language but expressing the same
ideas is plagiarism.

Does plagiarism violate the moral rights of an

author under the Intellectual Property Code?

What about international law? Look up

“Understanding Copyright and Related Rights”
on the website of the World Intellectual
Property Association. The Berne Convention
includes “the right to claim authorship of the
work,” which is “independent of the author’s
economic rights.” Foreign authors, like local
authors, are entitled to protection under our
law.

If it is a crime, is there a punishment?

According to Section 217 of RA 8293, “Any
person infringing any right secured by
provisions of Part IV (“The Law on Copyright”)
of this Act or aiding or abetting such
infringement shall be guilty of a crime
punishable by:

“(a) Imprisonment of one (1) year to three (3)

years plus a fine ranging from Fifty thousand
pesos (P50,000) to One hundred fifty thousand
pesos (P150,000) for the first offense;

“(b) Imprisonment of three (3) years and one

(1) day to six (6) years plus a fine ranging
from One hundred fifty thousand pesos
(P150,000) to Five hundred thousand pesos
(P500,000) for the second offense;

“(c) Imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1)

day to nine (9) years plus a fine ranging from
five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) to one
million five hundred thousand pesos
(P1,500,000) for the third and subsequent
offenses.”

A secondary issue has been raised about

copyright. Are blogs and writings on the Web
copyrighted? Chapter 2, Section 172.1, of the
law puts it as clearly: “Literary and artistic
works, hereinafter referred to as ‘works,’ are
original intellectual creations in the
literary and artistic domain protected from
the moment of their creation and shall include
in particular: (a) Books, pamphlets, articles
and other writings.” The word “writings” is
not limited to printed material. Writings on
the Web are writings.

In fact, Section 172.2 says that “works are

protected by the sole fact of their creation,
irrespective of their mode or form of
expression, as well as of their content,
quality and purpose.” The mode or form of
expression is immaterial. Whether on the Web,
in oral speech, or in a printed publication, a
literary work (meaning, a work that uses
words, hence, literary) is protected at the
moment of creation and because it was created.
There is no need for any copyright
registration nor even a copyright notice on a
web page.

Is plagiarism a crime? Are authors such as

Janice Formichella and Sarah Pope, as well as
the literary executors of Robert Kennedy,
entitled to press criminal charges because
their moral rights have been violated under
Philippine and international law?

I am not a lawyer, but as an author, I say

that serial plagiarists not only deserve to
burn in the fires of hell in the next life for
having broken the Seventh Commandment, but to
suffer in jail in this life for six to nine
years.