QUESTION
If one sells you their copyrights, or sells you that which is not copyrighted, can you use their work/ideas for attaining a College Degree?
Asked on Feb 11th, 2014 on Intellectual Property - New York
More details to this question:
Is there a U.S law that does/doesn't allow me to purchase copyrighted or uncopyrighted material off an author as an aid for attaining a college degree? There are services that offer to do your College work for you (writing papers, articles, dissertations). Since the work is new, original and custom made, there is no copyright and thus I am not infringing on any authors copyright. If I am not infringing on an author's copyright, then I am not violating the University policy of no plagiarism. Once I purchase the service and receive the work, and I become its author and as such I hand it in my work to the professor as an original author. If I am correct so far, then is there a U.S law that doesn't allow me to do this? I know there is an issue with actually paying someone to sit in on the classes and take the tests for you, but I am unaware of a law that wouldn't allow me to purchase other peoples copyrighted/uncopyrighted work for the purpose of attaining a College degree? Thank you.
2 ANSWERS
The issue isn't copyright. It's cheating. What you're proposing is both cheating and plagiarism.
Answered on Feb 14th, 2014 at 9:24 PM
Intellectual Property Attorney serving Manchester, NH
at
Hayes Soloway P.C.
Update Your Profile
The flaw in your position is equating copyright infringement and plagiarism. Plagiarism is passing someone else's work off as your own and/or not crediting the source of the work. If someone else writes a paper for you and you hand it in as your work, you are passing someone else's work off as your own. Plagiarism. The fact you have permission and you are not committing copyright infringement does not save you.
Plagiarism is not a U.S. law, it is rooted in school policies. The relevant U.S. law is fraud. The student is deceiving the school to obtain something of value (a grade, college credit, a degree). Expulsion is enough of a penalty for the student if the school finds out. For the source of the paper, the school would want to pursue a civil action for fraud.
Answered on Feb 12th, 2014 at 1:49 PM