Computer software developed to catch students copying from Internet

A researcher says he has developed computer software that detects electronically submitted academic reports containing passages copied and pasted from the Internet.

Kazunari Sugimitsu, an engineering professor and director of the Research Center for Intellectual Property Science at Kanazawa Institute of Technology, says he applied for a patent for the software in February and plans to have it commercially available next year.

"Students will rack their brains to write on their own if they cannot copy and paste so easily," he said.

The software takes advantage of technology used in translation programs.

It breaks down paragraphs of electronic data into clauses and words. The software then searches the Net for similar clauses and words and checks if the "copy" and "paste" functions have been used.

If it detects passages containing similar clauses and words, it provides a URL for the professor or teacher to check.

Sugimitsu started developing the software last summer after noticing that reports submitted a year earlier by two of his students contained similar passages. After he searched the Internet, Sugimitsu realized the passages in question had been copied and pasted from the same blog.

Sugimitsu says the software will not only help professors, who are frustrated by such cheating that is believed to be rampant among students, but it also will be good for the students.(IHT/Asahi: May 26,2008)