ABSTRACT
Larger percentage of undergraduates pay less
attention to copyright law or intellectual property, plagiarism, fair use,
paraphrasing and how to deal with them especially as it related to internet
publications and materials. The research therefore aims at appraising copyright
law awareness among students on the internet publication among Kwara State
University, Malete with the sole objective to know if Internet publications /
materials enjoy copyright law or not and to what extent, because plagiarism is
a criminal offence in an academic sphere. However, referencing internet
publications and materials with appropriate citations is one of the gimmicks
used to attribute the originators of ideas used in the course of writing and
presentations. Survey research method was adopted coupled with 200 copies of
questionnaires that were administered to students of which 193 copies were
retrieved. Internet publishing is no more a hidden phenomenon but a concept
that has taken a root in this global world of ours. Findings show that
substantial number of students do not know how to cite or reference internet
materials while many did not see reason to reference it. Students do download,
copy, convert, edit some Internet materials or copies such as; pictures,
graphics, typography, sounds, music, movies, ringing tones, web pages,
documentaries, games, articles, and lots more does not make internet publishing
a free source of information without any gatekeeper. Therefore, copyright laws
subsist on internet materials usually original. It is essential to sensitize
the internet users on what can be copyrighted and what capable of putting them
into trouble by organizing seminars, conferences and workshop for students.
e.t.c
