From: Duc.M.Pham@dartmouth.edu (Duc M. Pham)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese
Subject: [SOC] NON SONG MAGAZINE & AUTHOR'S PREROGATIVES
Date: 13 Nov 92 04:51:25 GMT
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
X-Posted-From: InterNews1.0a5@newshost.dartmouth.edu

Dear SCVers,

This is concerning the increasing violations of compy rights
infringements
seen on the net and elsewhere.  A few months back, a student from the
University of California at San Diego posted on SCV the poem "Mu*a
Tu*o*ng
Tu*", published by the school Vietnamese publication Gach Noi and later
by
Horizons, with out asking for permission from the authors.  I know both

authors, Ba.ch So*n Nha.n and Ha?i Ngo.c Ye^'n, and they did
not recall any one asking for permission to post the poem on the net. 
One
might say that the person who posted might not have been aware of the
illegitimacy of his action, and was just trying to share a poem he
liked with
others on SCV.  But he should still have talked to the authors before
having
their work appearing on any media.

About a month ago, Non So^ng Magazine--a publication for Vietnamese
college students
in California--reprinted "Byline", a short story by Q. Cindy Nguyen of
Stanford and published by Horizons, without permission either from the
author
or the publisher.  This later case is a clear violation of copy rights
law
and a gross disrespect for artistic and creative authenticity.

As an institution, Non So^ng is different from the individual in that
the
editors and publishers must be responsible for any illegitimate
behavior in
which the magazine might be involved.  They must make sure that their
writers
submit original works, and that attributions are made accordingly.  Of
course
it is impossible for a student oriented journal to screen every article
and
essay for plargiarism, but conscious efforts must nonetheless be made
to prevent the illegitimate publication of materials. If it is
discovered that a writer had plargiarized, the editors must either
retract the article or attribute the sources retro-actively.

In this case, however, although "Byline" was an original work, the
author
herself--as well as Horizons Magazine--was never
aware of the reprinting of her story.  Since the author did not submit
the
piece, we can only infer that it was the editors of Non So^ng who
decided
to perpetrate this act of journalistic, legal, and moral misconduct. 
Lack of
journalistic ethics is self-evident in that the magazine printed
something
that was not submitted to them; the legal infringement lies in that
copy
rights were violated; and moral irresponsibility is conspicuous in the
magazine's deeming it unnecessary to ask the author for permission to
reprint
her work.

I have seen a few works printed in Non So^ng which had appeared
elsewhere earlier, among them were poems by Nguye^~n So^ng Ho^`ng,
UCSD.  I once thought that the author submitted his work to more than
one magazine (which
is by the way acceptable due to the lack of financial transactions
involved). 
But now, I am not so sure if the author knew of his work's appearance
in the said magazine.  

As a magazine with hundreds of readers (most of whom are college
students) Non So^ng
should have set an example in honoring academic and journalistic
integrity by
publishing only materials submitted to them; and not the ones they saw
fit to be published in their magazine.  Dialogues have taken place
between both Horizons and Cindy Nguyen (the author) and Non Song. 
Fortunately, the editors on the latter journal has taken cognizance of
their mistake.  Still, I urge Non So^ng to take
action to publicly appologize the author and Horizons.  We understand
that mistakes and misunderstanding are inevitable in youth magazines
energized by volunteer efforts, but we have to show each other respect
and repetence when wrong-doing is committed.  And for those of you who
want to post (on SCV) works appeared on some other media, please make
some consious effort to ask for the author's permission before doing
so; that's the least we can do to show our appreciation for writers'
intellectual labor.


Thank you for your time.

Regards

Duc Minh Pham (Horizons Magazine)