Plagiarism row over Afrikaans dictionary

A LEGAL battle has erupted between Media 24 Books and Oxford University Press over plagiarism accusations.

Media 24 Books has accused the international publishing giant's Southern African subsidiary of lifting a substantial amount of material from its English-Afrikaans dictionary, Aanleerderswoordeboek, and including it in the Oxford Skoolwoordeboek.

Media 24 Books asked the Cape Town High Court to interdict Oxford University Press from reproducing, publishing and selling further copies of the dictionary.

The Aanleerderswoordeboek was published in 1993; the Oxford Skoolwoordeboek in 2007. The alleged plagiarism was spotted by Media 24 Books in 2012.

In court papers, Media 24 Books' counsel, Alasdair Sholto-Douglas SC, said the objective similarity between the works was evident in the head words in the dictionaries and in the sequence of translations, among others.

He said Oxford University Press had infringed Media 24 Books' copyright by reproducing or adapting a substantial portion of the work without authorisation.

But Willie Duminy SC, for Oxford University Press, dismissed the plagiarism allegation, saying the application was misconceived.

Duminy said that pointing out a phrase, or analogies of example sentences did not demonstrate copyright infringement in works of the nature of dictionaries.

Judge Patrick Gamble postponed the hearing to October 29. - Philani Nombembe