Page 1 of 8

PLAGUE-RISM:
THE EFFECTS OF BEING INTELLECTUAL COPYCATS

Plagiarism, in today’s modern society, has become the common problem in the areas of
academics due to the fact that as we develop, information has been available to us. However,
a lot of people, those struggling with their academics and works, have to hurdle not being
liable of plagiarism towards their works and papers.

Plagiarism is a burning issue in today’s internet era. According to Fishman, in his work We
know it when we see it is not good enough: toward a standard definition of plagiarism that
transcends theft, fraud, and copyright, plagiarism is defined as and or plagiarism occurs when
someone1:

(a) Uses words, ideas, or works products;

(b) Attributable to another identifiable person or source;
(c) Without attributing the work to the source form which it was
obtained;
(d) In a situation in which there is a legitimate expectation original
authorship;
(e) To obtain some benefit, credit, or gain which need not be
monetary.

There are several types of Plagiarism such as plagiarism of ideas2, Plagiarism of text (direct
plagiarism)3, Mosaic Plagiarism4, and so on. However, that is not the case that we are going
to deal here because we don’t only have to tackles the various ways of committing plagiarism,
but we must delve into laying down the repercussion of such. From light punishment or
reprimands, such activity can raise from minimal to serious legal actions in order to
discourage others from committing such offense.

There are certain repercussions of committing plagiarism wherein when caught, is likely to
result in a bad mark towards your academic performance or professional reputation which
eventually would lead to you jeopardizing your career, even future careers could be affected.

Common consequences or repercussion as a student could be grade penalties, failing your

academic program, facing disciplinary action and/or suspension or expulsion from your
university depending on the gravity of the offense committed. These consequences are more
likely to be found in your student’s manual or school policy.

1 Fishman, T. We know it when we see it is not good enough: toward a standard definition of plagiarism that transcends theft,
fraud, and copyright. In Proceedings of the Fourth Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity (4APCEI), 28-30
September, 2009, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. 2009.
2 Singh AJ. Plagiarising plagiarism. Indian J Community Med. 2007;32:1–3.
3 Roig M. Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing.
4 Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, et al. American Medical Association Manual of Style.

A Guide for Authors and Editors. 9th ed. Philadelphia: Williams and Wilkins; 1998. pp. 104–3.4.2.
 Page 2 of 8

While universities have the discretion on executing and enforcing their own policies on
plagiarism, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) also have implemented standards
and rules how on how they will address all forms of dishonesty and cheating in school. While
cases involving plagiarism are being dealt with inside the premises of the universities, cases
of expulsion are deliberated on by CHEd5.

It is a bigger burden to be caught or liable of committing plagiarism as a researcher. There

are serious personal and professional consequences. A claim of plagiarism could instead lead
you to a result of severe damage on your reputation as a researcher. It might result in the
loss of research funding and worst-case scenario, even your position.

If this unfortunate event happens, a researcher could impair his reputation and may have
trouble in finding another position in another workplace. Also, you will have a hard time
looking for journals that will accept your works or even those people who supports and
investors who are willing to fund your research as your credibility has been tainted by your
incriminating action of stealing somebody’s intellectual language and claiming it as your
own.

Notwithstanding the fact that your morale will be subject to serious scrutiny, those caught
and liable for committing plagiarism could be submitted to face legal consequences and such
repercussion would not take into account whether you are a student, a researcher, or a
nobody. Copyright infringement is so far the most serious legal issue.

In response to the increasing number of those who commit plagiarism, even long before, RA
8293 was instituted.

RA 8293, otherwise known as, “The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines” was signed
by President Fidel V Ramos on June 6, 1997. However, the latter law only took effect on
January 1, 1998.

Pursuant to the said Republic Act, both the IP Code and the Intellectual Property Office was
thereby instituted. Sec 2, RA 8293 provides that,
“The State recognizes that an effective intellectual and industrial
property system is vital to the development of domestic and creative
activity, facilitates transfer of technology, attracts foreign
investments, and ensures market access for our products. It shall
protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists
and other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations,
particularly when beneficial to the people, for such periods as
provided in this Act6.”

5 Quismundo, T. Plagiarism. Not cool. Copy? Philippine Daily Inquirer. June 18, 2011.
6 Republic Act No. 8293, Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, Part 1, Sec 2. January 1, 1998.
 Page 3 of 8

Thus, the language of the law as illustrated in its declaration of state policy presupposes
consideration of the state towards the promotion of creative activities. It covers various
fields such as science and literature. The same law particularly provides the method of
implementing the policy ought to be achieved. In such case, the state hereby provides rights
to individuals covered by the act as well as penalties for transgressors who violate the right
accorded to the former.

As a background, it has been provided that intellectual property as contemplated in the law
covers seven different areas: Copyrights and related rights, trademarks and service marks,
geographic indications, industrial designs, patents, layout-designs of integrated circuits, and
protection of undisclosed information7. The IP Code, as matter of fact, is composed of five
parts tackling what is covered and what is not.

Furthermore, the highlight of the IP code is enshrined in some of its provisions like— the law
on patent and the law on copyright. The difference between the two lies in the context from
which they are intended to apply. The former law for example grants right of patent to the
person who had the earliest filing date. This happens in case two or more applications for
the same invention are filed. Typically, the law on Patent is used for scientific inventions.
After all, patents have been described by the law as any technical solution of a problem in
any field of human activity which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially
applicable. It may be, or may relate to, a product, or process, or an improvement of any of the
foregoing8.

Whereas, under the copyright law, the context lies in the purpose of according legal
protection to the author of an original work, regardless of the domain to which it belongs9.
It could be literary or artistic such as books, other writings, musical works, films, paintings
and other works, and computer programs. All of which are accorded the same protection.
To uphold the sanctity of the rights accorded to original authors, the copyright law provides
penalty for infringement thereof.

Sec 216 (1)10, Chapter XVII of the Copyright law laid down the rules. In such case:
Any person infringing a right protected under this law shall be liable:
(a) To an injunction restraining such infringement. The court may also
order the defendant to desist from an infringement, among others, to
prevent the entry into the channels of commerce of imported goods
that involve an infringement, immediately after customs clearance of
such goods.
(b) Pay to the copyright proprietor or his assigns or heirs such actual
damages, including legal costs and other expenses, as he may have

7Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. Retrieved from: http://www.ipophil.gov.ph/.

8Republic Act No. 165A, Section 7.
9Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. Retrieved from: http://www.ipophil.gov.ph/.
10Republic Act No. 8293, Chapter XVII, Sec 216.
 Page 4 of 8

incurred due to the infringement as well as the profits the infringer

may have made due to such infringement, and in proving profits the
plaintiff shall be required to prove sales only and the defendant shall
be required to prove every element of cost which he claims, or, in lieu
of actual damages and profits, such damages which to the court shall
appear to be just and shall not be regarded as penalty.
(c) Deliver under oath, for impounding during the pendency of the action,
upon such terms and conditions as the court may prescribe, sales
invoices and other documents evidencing sales, all articles and their
packaging alleged to infringe a copyright and implements for making
them.
(d) Deliver under oath for destruction without any compensation all
infringing copies or devices, as well as all plates, molds, or other
means for making such infringing copies as the court may order.
(e) Such other terms and conditions, including the payment of moral and
exemplary damages, which the court may deem proper, wise and
equitable and the destruction of infringing copies of the work even in
the event of acquittal in a criminal case.

In addition to the foregoing liabilities, Sec 216 (2)11 also provides that courts have
the power to order the seizure and impounding of any article which may serve as
evidence in the court proceedings.

Despite the forgoing civil liabilities attached, there is also a criminal penalty that awaits those
who aids or abets in the promotion of infringement. Sec 217 (1) thereby provides:
Any person infringing any right secured by provisions of Part IV 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.
(d) In all cases, subsidiary imprisonment in cases of insolvency.

Hence, the law is serious in providing as a rule that plagiarism is something an individual
ought not to do, otherwise, the foregoing sanctions are inevitable to face. The Copyright law

11Presidential Decree No. 49A, Section 28.

 Page 5 of 8

is a code proof signifying that plagiarism is not just considered morally wrong— but also
legally frowned.

The penalty of imprisonment is indeed a reminder that plagiarism is an offense that can
and would put a culprit behind bars.

Not only is Republic Act No. 8293 in effect, the Philippine government, on the other hand,
has formulated and enacted some regulations to address the issues on plagiarism. A law was
passed, RA 10175, also known as the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act, with this, it
steers the country to institute criminal penalties for a variety of online acts, including
spamming, identity theft and libel.

This law, however, had an unintended side effect on criminalizing some forms of plagiarism.
This new law adds penalties to special laws and one of those is the Intellectual Property Code,
wherein the nation’s copyright law is under.

Amidst the strict implementation of anti-plagiarism towards all schools, corporations,

companies and nations, there are ways not to be liable for committing plagiarism. Though
plagiarism is sometimes deliberate, it is often committed with no criminal intent by the
students, researches or professionals who are just unaware or even ignorant of not properly
citing or crediting their sources.

To avoid committing plagiarism, precautions include being prudent in finding information

and how to properly contextualize it in your own understanding. There are strategies to
avoid plagiarism. Kalani and Twinwal12 showcased that the best tip in avoiding plagiarism is
to cite the works in the text. Always keep track of your sources, because the time you input
some notes either a quote or an idea, always make sure to see also the full details of the
source where you found it.

Know how to properly quote. Using someone’s words might be illegal even though you only
used a short phrase. Just use quotation marks or block quote formatting, however, when
quoting, be sure that the quote you used the exact words coming from the original author.

Since we are living in an era full of technology, we can use it for the greater good in order for
us to avoid committing plagiarism by utilizing the resources that is available and that is using
a plagiarism checker. It is available in the worldwide web, however, make sure that the
plagiarism checker that you are using is also reliable and efficient. With this, an automated
checker can identify the mistakes like missing citations and paraphrased passages that are
quite identical to some original works.

Citation is a must. Failure to do so would result to you facing legal, social, and monetary
consequences. The Internet today became more accessible to everyone which means that

12 Kalani, V. & Twinwal, A. Plagiarism and its consequences.

 Page 6 of 8

information can be gathered easily through the access of such. But with these technologies,
there is also a danger lurking around the corner – the fake news. As the information became
more accessible, the chances of getting misinformed is also higher. The effect of fake news
and misinformation is devastating to every society. Knowing the nature of man, we are all
driven by our own interests – it may be social, political, etc. This interest may differ from one
and the other. Reading something that is connected to your interests will make you believe
it without even knowing whether the information that you gathered is verified to be true,
such error will make you live with that information for the rest of your life – a chaotic society
in the process.

It is of no doubt that those who are not well-educated are the ones who are most likely to
become the victims of these false information or fake news. Education is one of the weapons
against all these modern problems. A weapon that cannot be stolen by someone else. But
unfortunately, not all can get the education that they desire because of financial reasons and
those who are under-privileged.

Research plays a vital role in our society. In the process of a research, one must gather
information. But due to the easy access of these information, we have to be careful in
acquiring them because it may be false because what is worse than committing plagiarism is
plagiarizing false information. In case that your information falls under the pothole of fake
news or misinformation, at least you can set up the defense that the information did not come
from you but from your sources. You cannot only be made liable from spreading
misinformation but also plagiarism.

Imagine yourself not citing your sources and ending up knowing that those sources you
gathered are actually false and were only purposely done to misinform the public and create
chaos. This is also one of consequences in committing plagiarism. Getting yourself liable also
for the bad intent of the other. A research with well-cited sources is a well-researched work.
Citing the sources can also help the readers to verify the information gathered. As of today,
there are many movements to take down the fake news or false information that are
widespread across the virtual world. Citing a source is one way to help this movement. By
citing the information, it will allow those advocates to track and shut it down if it is found to
be one of that false information purposely done to mislead the public. It will be shameful to
be liable for plagiarism for plagiarizing a false information.

Plagiarism, as generally defined, is stealing the work of another and claiming it as its own;
this suits perfectly in the instance someone plagiarizes a false information since false
information are also the personal work of other people, only that its intent is to mislead the
public. By maliciously plagiarizing, although it is unknown to you that is but a factual news,
you have inadvertently contributed to the bad doings of the other. Be responsible enough to
cite your sources.

It is true that once you are guilty of plagiarism, you may face legal, social, and monetary
consequences; Legal in a way that a case may be filed against you for violating the copyright
 Page 7 of 8

laws or intellectual property laws; Social in a way that your hard-earned reputation will be
destroyed in a snap because of plagiarism; and Monetary in a way that you will have to pay
the penalties imposed upon you.

However, the outcomes will not only revolve around you. The consequences do not limit only
to one person. There are also circumstances wherein the public at large will be affected by
the plagiarism done by one person. Say for example, an information was acquired by a doctor
from a source that was long taken down already stating that, for instance, the pandemic, that
is this COVID-19, can be cured by this medicine but in reality, it can actually worsen the case
of those already infected with the said virus. The doctor did not cite its source and treated it
as his/her own invention for fame, but the result was devastating as it killed a lot of people.
Plagiarism should be strictly observed especially in the professional field such as in
medicines because one mistake can affect the public health of the people and such damages,
if not be undone, will damage the integrity and dignity of the health profession. The trust and
confidence of every citizen matters a lot especially in these fields.

CONCLUSION

Taking off, plagiarism is indeed a big deal. It is a plague that continues to hideously crawl its
way to the academe and institutional systems. No matter how discrete one kidnaps the work
of others and incorporate it to his own, the relative interconnectedness of humans and their
works around the world will always reveal the dreadful truth. Plagiarizing others’ works may
not involve any form of conventional taking of property nor does it involve killing somebody,
but as much as we ought to punish a person when they commit the crime of theft or robbery,
it is of equal importance that we should also punish those who steal ideas because otherwise,
we are nothing but a society of second-rate, trying hard copycats.
 Page 8 of 8

REFERENCES:

▪ Fishman, T. We know it when we see it is not good enough: toward a standard definition
of plagiarism that transcends theft, fraud, and copyright. In Proceedings of the Fourth
Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity (4APCEI), 28-30 September, 2009,
University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. 2009.
▪ Singh AJ. Plagiarising plagiarism. Indian J Community Med. 2007;32:1–3
▪ Roig M. Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices:
A guide to ethical writing.
▪ Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, et al. American
Medical Association Manual of Style. A Guide for Authors and Editors. 9th ed.
Philadelphia: Williams and Wilkins; 1998. pp. 104–3.4.2.
▪ Quismundo, T. Plagiarism. Not cool. Copy? Philippine Daily Inquirer. June 18, 2011.
▪ Republic Act No. 8293, Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, Part 1, Sec 2.
January 1, 1998.
▪ Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. Retrieved from:
http://www.ipophil.gov.ph/.
▪ Republic Act No. 165A, Section 7.
▪ Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. Retrieved from:
http://www.ipophil.gov.ph/.
▪ Republic Act No. 8293, Chapter XVII, Sec 216.
▪ Presidential Decree No. 49A, Section 28.
▪ Kalani, V. & Twinwal, A. Plagiarism and its consequences.