Intellectual Property

Copyrights  What is intellectual property?  What is a copyright?  A form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. US PTO

Why do we have Copyrights  Encourage creativity  Encourage public disclosure of ideas, works  Permit appropriate financial rewards  Recognizes creativity  Gives credit to authors  Reputation / Legacy  Provides a traceable record of accomplishments

Citing the Works of Others  Giving credit to the source of ideas, works  For text or figures, etc. in your paper, you must indicate at the point of usage that the material was taken from elsewhere using brackets, e.g. [12] like this  In the reference section (at the end of your paper), you would show the references in order, e.g. as in  If in doubt, use IEEE Journal articles as a guide

Using Quotations  If the material is a direct quote of another’s work, then indicate with the use of quotation marks, e.g. “four score and seven years”  If the material is a paraphrase, so indicate simply using the citation, e.g. [12], at the end of each sentence that paraphrases  If the material is very loosely based upon another’s work, just place the citation at the end of each such paragraph

Be Sure the Information is Correct – Avoid Plagiarism  Errors in citing references can be a problem  Changing just the words, but keeping the sentence structure can be a problem  Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up a majority of your work, whether or not you give credit, can also be a problem  Errors made by your typist can be a problem  You are responsible for what you turn in

Avoiding Plagiarism  Citing references / sources is absolutely essential  Acknowledging material is taken from others  Providing readers with the information needed to locate the source

Helpful Hints  Do not turn in a paper that is mostly taken from a single source  Avoid word-for-word translation from another’s work(s)  Avoid taking material from several sources and just tweaking sentences to make them fit together  Don’t spend your time paraphrasing, but spend it being thoughtful and creative  Write out ideas in your own words

Referencing Material  Give a complete reference so that others can locate the original work  Do not simply give the URL: instead of saying [12] say [12] How Virtual Private Networks Work by Jeff Tyson,  If it is a quotation, use “quotation marks”  Do not simply state your sources in the text of your paper  Base your paper on several works – do not use the same source over and over again

Common Knowledge  No need to cite a reference for commonly known facts, e.g., George Washington was born on February 22,  You must document facts or concepts that are not generally known and ideas that interpret facts

Obtain Permission  If you need to use graphics, figures, or diagrams that are taken directly from a source, obtain permission before you make them part of your publication

References  [1] “Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It,” Indiana University, arism.shtml arism.shtml  [2] “What is Plagiarism,” Plagiarism.Org, at_is_plagiarism.html at_is_plagiarism.html