Plagiarism and Copyright Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

WUST expects research and scholarly communication to respect both academic attribution and legal rights. Plagiarism and copyright infringement are related but distinct: plagiarism concerns presenting another person's contribution without appropriate credit, while copyright concerns unauthorized use of protected expression. A use may violate one standard, both standards, or neither.

This policy applies to manuscripts, proposals, reports, theses, presentations, websites, datasets, software, images, audiovisual works, educational materials, repository deposits, public communications, and other outputs produced or distributed with a WUST affiliation or through WUST resources.

2. What Constitutes Plagiarism

Plagiarism may occur intentionally, recklessly, or through inadequate source practices. Its seriousness depends on the nature, amount, context, and effect of the uncredited use. Common knowledge and independently developed work do not require attribution, but uncertainty should be resolved in favor of transparent citation.

3. Reuse, Duplicate Publication, and Text Recycling

Authors may build on their earlier work, but readers and editors must not be misled about what is new. Substantial reuse of previously disseminated text, data, figures, methods, or findings must be disclosed and cited. Publisher permission may also be required if copyright was transferred or an exclusive license was granted.

Unacceptable practices include submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals at once, publishing substantially the same findings as new without disclosure, dividing a single study into misleading fragments, and translating or republishing work without identifying the prior version and obtaining required authorization.

Limited reuse of standard methods language may be acceptable when precise repetition is necessary, the original source is cited where appropriate, and the reuse complies with publisher rules. Authors should describe what has been reused and what the present work adds.

4. Citation, Quotation, and Contribution Credit

• Use a citation style appropriate to the discipline and provide enough information for a reader to locate the source.
• Place quotation marks, block formatting, figure labels, or another clear indicator around exact copied expression.
• Cite the source immediately enough that the boundary between borrowed and original material is clear.
• Credit datasets, software, protocols, images, instruments, and nontraditional research outputs, not only journal articles.
• Cite primary sources when available and do not cite a source that has not been consulted as though it were reviewed directly.
• Do not manipulate references to satisfy coercive citation requests, inflate metrics, or imply unsupported authority.
• Recognize substantive contributions through authorship or acknowledgment according to the relevant authorship standard.

Authors are responsible for reference accuracy. A citation generated by software or AI must be checked against the actual source before submission.

5. Copyright and Ownership

Copyright generally protects original expression fixed in a tangible form, including text, graphics, photographs, videos, recordings, code, and certain compilations. It does not protect facts, ideas, procedures, systems, or discoveries by themselves, although the particular expression, arrangement, software implementation, database structure, or confidential treatment may be protected.

Ownership may depend on authorship, employment duties, use of University resources, sponsor terms, contracts, collaboration agreements, publication agreements, and applicable law. Researchers must not promise, license, upload, sell, or transfer rights they do not control. Questions involving ownership, commercialization, patents, or sponsor rights should be resolved before public disclosure.

WUST affiliation does not by itself make a work free to use, and material found online is not automatically in the public domain. A lack of a copyright notice does not establish permission.

6. Permissions, Open Licenses, and Fair Use

Permission

When authorization is required, obtain written permission from the rights holder before publication or distribution. The request should identify the material, intended use, format, audience, territory, duration, and whether modification or commercial distribution is expected. Keep permission records with the project files.

Openly licensed and public-domain material

Open licenses, including Creative Commons licenses, permit only the uses specified by their terms. Follow attribution, share-alike, noncommercial, and no-derivatives conditions as applicable. Verify the license and that the person applying it had authority to do so. Public-domain status should also be documented.

Fair use and statutory exceptions

Fair use is a fact-specific legal doctrine, not an automatic academic exemption. Analysis commonly considers the purpose and character of the use, nature of the copyrighted work, amount and substantiality used, and effect on the potential market. Educational or research purpose is relevant but does not guarantee fair use. Seek qualified institutional guidance when the decision is material or uncertain.

7. Similarity Screening and Response

WUST-affiliated journals, programs, and research administrators may use similarity-detection tools as one part of review. A similarity score is not a finding of plagiarism; matched passages require contextual assessment, including quotations, references, methods language, preprints, and legitimate prior versions.

When a concern is identified:

1. Preserve the submitted version, screening report, sources, and relevant correspondence.
2. Conduct a preliminary comparison to determine the nature and extent of the overlap.
3. Give the author or researcher a fair opportunity to explain, unless doing so would compromise evidence or safety.
4. Refer credible serious concerns to the appropriate editor, academic office, research-integrity process, rights holder, sponsor, or institution.
5. Apply a proportionate outcome, which may include education, revision, rejection, correction, withdrawal, retraction, access restriction, or formal review.

Good-faith complaints and reviews should be handled discreetly. Retaliation and knowingly false allegations are prohibited.

8. Software, Digital Media, and Artificial Intelligence

Code, models, prompts, images, recordings, and other digital materials must be used in accordance with their licenses, terms, confidentiality restrictions, and attribution requirements. Copying code from a repository or forum may require both a license review and source acknowledgment.

Generative-AI output may reproduce protected or unattributed material, invent sources, or obscure who contributed to a work. Researchers remain responsible for checking originality, permissions, accuracy, and citation. AI systems may not be listed as authors. Material AI assistance should be disclosed when required by a journal, sponsor, course, conference, or professional standard.

Do not upload unpublished manuscripts, peer-review materials, proprietary content, restricted code, participant data, or other confidential information to an unapproved AI or external service.

9. Copyright Questions and Removal Requests

A person who believes material on a WUST Research Center page or repository infringes copyright should send a detailed notice to the appropriate University contact and may begin by contacting [email protected]. The notice should identify the protected work, the material at issue and its location, the requester's contact information, the basis of the claim, and any supporting ownership or authorization records.

WUST may temporarily restrict access while reviewing a credible claim. The contributor should receive an opportunity to respond where appropriate. Outcomes may include restoration, replacement, correction of attribution or license information, continued restriction, removal, or referral for legal or institutional review.