Protecting intellectual property

As transnational higher education expands, so do the complexities of protecting intellectual property, preventing plagiarism, and offering due credit to those whose knowledge we borrow. Christopher Hill's article on plagiarism primarily deals with student plagiarism but it does elude to some of the other issues of knowledge sharing. What's important in the conversation about protecting intellectual property is working toward a mutual understanding about giving proper credit, especially when many academics are intentionally engaged in knowledge distribution. The point here is that those who work in transnational higher education want to share best practices, approaches, and ideas but generally there is a desire to not have what is shared 'stolen.'

The difference between generous academic sharing and theft is making sure to credit the origin of ideas. Oddly enough, some young, experienced, or poorly coached academics adopt ideas and then talk/write about then as if they were original. Intellectuals with integrity seek to give as much credit as possible because referencing the origin can strengthen the power of what is proposed. Load up those citations so it is clear that you have done your homework!

By the way, theft of intellectual property is often violated in Western higher education circles where one would think crediting sources would be natural and required. It is disheartening how often original contributions are passed over as if they were common and shared knowledge.