Online Term Papers Copyrighted

In a new spin on the online term paper debate, an Illinois court ordered one company to provide proof of permission from the papers' authors.

Online term papers have always been controversial due to students' ability to simply purchase and submit work that isn't their own. This ethical dilemma was not addressed in the recent ruling.

This ruling was the culmination of a 2006 lawsuit revolving around authors of a research paper who found their work on sale online. The companies selling term papers online must provide proof of permission from the authors of all papers.

Though the companies prosecuted in this case are relatively small, it's possible that this ruling will discourage others from selling online term papers.