French and German judicial approaches to plagiarism in research

Abstract

In Germany, the courts are simply not called upon to judge cases of plagiarism. It is the research institutes and, in case of appeal, the administrative courts that are competent. This is because German research has developed solid tools for defining and punishing plagiarism, which the institutes must respect. These rules cover infringements much broader than copyright, including 'intelligent' plagiarism, theft of ideas, paraphrasing and other misquotes. Prosecution is not a matter for the parties but for society. What German institutions most often sanction by withdrawing the title of doctor is the deception of the researcher, the lack of independence of his or her research work and the resulting lack of progress in research. In France, the university does not challenge or sanction cases of plagiarism. Victims, tired of not being heard or afraid of seeing their case buried, turn to the courts. Because historically based essentially on copyright, the French courts only manage to award damages and punish copy-pasting. While new legal grounds such as parasitism are developing, the costs, burdens and hazards of the procedures limit the number of claims.