Academic Integrity in a Digital Age

We have seen that intellectual property basically describe the legal ownership of one’s own idea rather than items. Copyright emerged in the market in the literary and artists' works and later it was a matter of concern to all those engaged in creating, publishing or distributing creative works. The protection of intellectual property has become an important key in international and national trade, and because of digitization of information and the spread of computer networks, now copyright affects the entire community in one way or another. This course introduces you with a brief explanation of IP basic concepts, Different forms of IP rights and their implementation, whereby the basics of patent, copyright, trademark, industrial designs and geographical indications were discussed. Further, you were equipped information about trade secrets and its roles. You were also able to identify items which are protected by copyright and which are not, and the role of IP in Open Educational Resources (OER) contents and Open source Software. The topic ended by looking at the aspects of IP in academic discipline, especially and the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) development.

Generally IP is an intangible asset which is very important in businesses; indeed it is the most valuable asset which needs to be protected. Let us protect our IP and IP of others, while remembering that simple procedures can be used without adding excessive bureaucracy.