Awareness and Attitude of University Students Towards Copyright Laws on Internet Materials

Awareness and Attitude of University Students Towards Copyright Laws on Internet Materials

CHAPTER ONE

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are;

To ascertain the level of awareness of students towards copyright laws on internet materials
To ascertain the relationship between attitude of university students towards internet materials and the copyright laws on internet materials
To ascertain the relationship between attitude of university students towards internet materials and academic performance
To ascertain the factors that lead to infringement of copyright law

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

Copyright can be defined as a set of exclusive rights granted by government for a limited time to protect the particular form, way or manner in which an idea or information is expressed. Copyright may subsist in a wide range of creative or artistic form or “works” including literary works, movies, musical works, sound recordings, paintings, photographs, software and industrial designs (Intellectual Property Office, 2011). In other words, copyright is essentially a private right by which the owners decide how to exploit the copyright work and how to enforce the copyright. The owners can decide if there will be any use of the copyright work falling within the scope of the economic rights. Okwilagwe (2001) pointed out that the concept of copyright was devised for two main purposes: to serve as a positive force for creative people to produce works of culture, and to provide incentives for the effective dis semination of these works. This author points out that copyright law protects the rights of authors and creators and their creative ideas. From these perspectives, it is understood that creative ideas are under the absolute control of a creator or author. From another perspective (Fabunmi, 2007) emphasized that copyright can be described as a property that may be sold, assigned or licensed for use by any other person who has interest in such work. This simply means that the whole essence of copyright laws is to avoid intellectual theft by various information users. Ekpo (1992) asserted that copyright allows authors to enjoy the full benefits of creative works for a limited period. In Nigeria, the legal framework that protects created works is the protection decree of 1970 by the Nigerian Copyright Council for literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. This legal framework was amended by the Federal Government of Nigeria, when the Nigerian Copyright Commission was inaugurated in August 1989. Eisenschitz (1993) observes that the easy access of information online has led to the growth of a large number of criminal activities, which have brought barriers to access and communicate in their wake. Okwilagwe (2001), while citing the Copyright Act, Chapter 68 laws of the Federal Government of Nigeria (1990), identified works that will have copyright protection in section 1 of the act. They include literary works, musical works, artistic works, cinematography films, sound recordings and broadcast. The Copyright Act of 1976 only gives the copyright owners the exclusive rights to: reproduce or make copies of the work; prepare adaptations of the work such as preparing a translation of a book originally written in English or preparing a movie screenplay based on a novel; distribute copies of the work to the public; perform the work in public; and display the work in public. Similarly, Cambridge University distinguishes four categories of rights. These include the right to be identified as the author or creator; the right to not having work subjected to derogatory treatment; the right to not having a work falsely attributed to the author; and the right of privacy of privately commissioned photographs and films. However, these rights are subject to many exceptions, which are detailed in the copyright act. For instance, certain non-profit organizations can perform certain copyrighted works without the permission of the copyright owner and libraries can make copies of damaged books without violating the copyright statute. The statute also permits owners of copies of computer software to make one copy as a backup. Copyright notice informs the public that a given work is copyrighted. The notice is placed in each published copy of the protected work and consists of either the word copyright, or the symbol ©, accompanied by the name of the copyright owner and the date of first publication. This symbol (©) was established by the Universal Copyright Convention in 1952 meaning that the work is copyright protected.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design

The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to awareness and attitude of university students towards copyright laws on internet materials

Sources of data collection

Data were collected from two main sources namely:

(i)Primary source and

(ii)Secondary source

Primary source:

These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.

Secondary source:

These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.

Population of the study

Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information a awareness and attitude of university students towards copyright laws on internet materials. 200 staff of Kwara state university was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Introduction

Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.

DATA ANALYSIS

The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.

A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Introduction

It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain awareness and attitude of university students towards copyright laws on internet materials

In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of university students towards copyright laws on internet materials

Summary

This study was on awareness and attitude of university students towards copyright laws on internet materials. Four objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the level of awareness of students towards copyright laws on internet materials, to ascertain the relationship between attitude of university students towards internet materials and the copyright laws on internet materials, to ascertain the relationship between attitude of university students towards internet materials and academic performance, to ascertain the factors that lead to infringement of copyright law. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of Kwara state university. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up heads of department, lecturers, senior lecturers and junior lecturers were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies

Conclusion

The study also revealed that majority of undergraduate students infringe on copyright laws mostly through photocopying and the major reason for infringement of these laws by undergraduates is because of the high cost of purchasing. It was also observed that majority of the undergraduate students infringe on copyright law as a result of the non availability of printed learning resources and majority of the undergraduate students infringe on copyright laws as a result of the high cost of purchasing printed learning resources, this finding varies from the study carried out by Ogunrombi and Bello(1999), which revealed that majority of undergraduate students infringe on copyright as a result of scarcity of these printed resources

Recommendation

It is therefore recommended that the libraries in higher institutions should be well equipped with enough and relevant printed/literary resources that will be readily available and assessable by the students when needed, this will help to reduce the rate of photocopying in higher institutions. The learning resources available in the library should also be in multiple copies, this will enable different users borrow and use the materials at the same time.

REFERENCES

Aina, L.O. (2004). Library and Information Science Text for Africa. Ibadan: Third World Information Services Limited.
Abolade, A.O. (1986). Principles and Practice of Instruction: Publication Committee. Department of Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology. University of Ilorin. p 181-196.
Apotiade, J.K. (2002). National, State and Public Libraries. Ibadan: Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan.
Barker, E.R. (1970). Photocopying Practices in the United Kingdom. London: Faber and Faber. p 77-78.
Kargbo, J.A. (2002). Effects of the Civil War and the Role of Librarians in Post-War Reconstruction in Sierra Leone. World Libraries. 12 (2).
Okwilagwe, A.O. (2001). Book Publishing in Nigeria. Ibadan: Stirling Horden. p 153-178
Moahi, K.H. (2004). Copyright in the Digital Era and some Implications for Indigenous Knowledge. African Journal for Library and Information.
Ogunrombi, S.A. and Bello, M.A. (1999). Photocopying and the Awareness of Copyright in Tertiary Institutions in Bauchi State, Nigeria. African Journal of Library, Archival and Information Science. 9(1).

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