Factors lead to copyright infringements among undergraduates: a study based on state universities In Sri Lanka

Abstract

Copyright infringement is known as the use of copyrighted works without the permission of the authors or creators. Copyright infringement is a form of dishonesty and a violation of the authors’ economic and exclusive rights. In general, copyright infringement occurs in various ways, such as theft and plagiarism among students pursuing degree programmes in higher education institutions. Against this backdrop, this study aims to identify the factors influencing copyright infringement activities among students pursuing higher education at state universities in Sri Lanka and to give suitable recommendations for minimizing the relevant factors. This qualitative study uses Primary and Secondary data. Primary data are collected by distributing self-administered questionnaires (SAQ) to about 372 selected participants based on the random sampling method. The selected students who continue their education in the academic years from 2016/2017 to 2019/ 2020 include students who are pursuing general and honours degree programmes. The data were analyzed using statistical tools such as Cronbach’s alpha, regression test, and coefficients. According to the R Square value, interest in violating the law, fear of poor marks, higher cost of the book, lack of awareness, and scarcity of material accounts for 92% impact on copyright infringement behaviour of the participants. All hypotheses (H1, H3, H4, H5, H6) formulated by researchers are accepted at a significant level of .000, except for overfilled curricula (H2). Thus, the reasons for copyright infringement among the students of the study area are the high cost of books (B-185), lack of awareness (B-331), fear of poor grades (B-255), and scarcity of materials (B-655). Increasing the number of copies available in universities’ libraries, conducting awareness programs for students and library professionals, and increasing the penalties prescribed in copyright law may help eliminate students’ behavior. The researchers expect that the results of this study will strengthen the awareness of copyright infringements among students in the future.