THIS is apropos of Zahid Zafar Buledi’s letter ‘Misusing IT for plagiarism’ (Feb 19). For the last one decade plagiarism has destroyed the thought process of our young generation. It is affecting not only students but also professionals.

The education sector is not alone which is spoiled by it. It has also affected the natural talent because of technological advancements. The menace of plagiarism has been spreading like a virus.

The fields which demand creativity and higher level of intellect such as electronic media, music, advertisements, content on entertainment channels, and publications are affected by plagiarism.

Undoubtedly, revolution of information technology has made it easier to gather information. At present 90 per cent of all publications are based on compilation. The copy-paste culture is spreading fast, without the reference of the original source of information. Publishers do not bother to follow the intellectual property laws.

Even books on intellectual property laws have plagiarised content. The Higher Education Commission is taking serious measures to stop plagiarism and misuse of information technology. It is providing various softwares to educational institutes to detect plagiarism.

The Intellectual Property Ordinance in Pakistan is in force and there are also intellectual property laws, which include:

copyrights, trademark, patents, and geographical indications. The problem rests in no proper implementation and enforcement of these laws. Pakistan is currently facing infringements in international, domestic and in commercial arenas.

Pakistani music is being copied by other countries; even advertisements are influenced by foreign productions. Whenever there is a violation of intellectual property, the only reason found is lack of implementation of intellectual property laws.

Having knowledge or making laws does not serve the purpose, rather the execution of the laws is the major step.

MUHAMMAD USMAN IFTIKHAR Lahore