Awareness of copyright infringement among undergraduates of the state universities in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Copyright infringement characterized by the unauthorized use of copyrighted material without creators' or authors' consent, constitutes a breach of economic and exclusive rights. This issue is pervasive in higher education institutions in Sri Lanka, manifested through theft, piracy, reuse, and plagiarism among degree-seeking students. This study explores copyright infringement awareness among undergraduates at state universities in Sri Lanka, employing primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through Self-Administered Questionnaires (SAQ) distributed to 356 participants across academic years 2016/2017 to 2019/2020, encompassing general and honors degree programs, selected via Random Sampling Method (RSM). Data analysis, facilitated by SPSS (Version-26), yielded insights presented in tabular format. Results revealed that 58.1% of participants were unaware of copyright infringement as academic dishonesty, as well as the Sri Lankan government-enforced Intellectual Property Act No.36 of 2003, aimed at protecting intellectual property. Additionally, 77.4% acknowledged copyright infringement as a forbidden act within their religions (Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism Moreover, the main factors that lead to copyright infringement of study samples were a lack of awareness of copyright law (38%), costly textbooks (64.6%), and fear of lower semester grades (77.4%). These findings hold implications for academia, libraries, university administration, and policy-making, prompting proactive measures against future copyright violations. Researchers anticipate that these results will significantly contribute to future investigations in this area.