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Abstract

In a “cut-and-paste” Internet environment where plagiarism is easier than ever, academic institutions face the daunting challenges of promoting honesty and respect for the work of others and of ensuring the integrity of the learning and grading processes. Many academic institutions have accordingly turned to commercial plagiarism prevention and detection services, such as those provided by a company called Turnitin. Yet those institutions that use the Turnitin system may be fostering infringement of the intellectual property rights of their students. When Virginia’s McLean High School recently announced plans to use Turnitin, students balked and collected 1,190 student signatures on a petition that opposed mandatory use of the system, because that use of Turnitin would infringe their intellectual property rights by automatically adding their essays to the company’s massive database. In response, school officials backed off a plan to require students in all grades to submit essays to Turnitin, deciding instead to phase in use of Turnitin by making it mandatory only for ninth and tenth-grade students in specified classes. But as the plagiarism problem grows and questions about the legality and effectiveness of the Turnitin system linger and extend far beyond McLean High School, the academic world will be able to dodge the problem only for so long. Part II of this Note examines the plagiarism problem facing the academic world; Part III examines the origins and workings of the Turnitin system; Part IV analyzes the copyright issues raised by Turnitin’s service and examines the broader question whether plagiarism prevention justifies deferential treatment in a fair use inquiry; Part V examines further implications of the copyright analysis; Part VI examines Turnitin’s effectiveness; and Part VII provides alternative solutions to the plagiarism problem.

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