§ 213-B — Unlawful sale of dissertations, theses and term papers

§ 213-b. Unlawful sale of dissertations, theses and term papers. 1. No\nperson shall, for financial consideration, or the promise of financial\nconsideration, prepare, offer to prepare, cause to be prepared, sell or\noffer for sale to any person any written material which the seller\nknows, is informed or has reason to believe is intended for submission\nas a dissertation, thesis, term paper, essay, report or other written\nassignment by a student in a university, college, academy, school or\nother educational institution to such institution or to a course,\nseminar or degree program held by such institution.\n 2. Nothing herein contained shall prevent such educational institution\nor any member of its faculty or staff, from offering courses,\ninstruction, counseling or tutoring for research or writing as part of a\ncurriculum or other program conducted by such educational institution.\nNor shall this section prevent any educational institution or any member\nof its faculty or staff from authorizing students to use statistical,\ncomputer, or any other services which may be required or permitted by\nsuch educational institution in the preparation, research or writing of\na dissertation, thesis, term paper, essay, report or other written\nassignment. Nor shall this section prevent tutorial assistance rendered\nby other persons which does not include the preparation, research or\nwriting of a dissertation, thesis, term paper, essay, report or other\nwritten assignment intended for submission to such educational\ninstitution in fulfillment of the requirements for a degree, diploma,\ncertificate or course of study. Nor shall any person be prevented by the\nprovisions of this section from rendering services for a fee which shall\nbe limited to the typing, transcription or reproduction of a manuscript.\n 3. Nothing contained within this section shall prevent any person from\nselling or offering for sale a publication or other written material\nwhich shall have been registered under the United States laws of\ncopyright, provided, however, that the owner of such copyright shall\nhave given his authorization or approval for such sale and provided\nfurther that such publication or other written material shall not be\nintended for submission as a dissertation, thesis, term paper, essay,\nreport or other written assignment to such educational institution\nwithin the state of New York in fulfillment of the requirements for a\ndegree, diploma, certificate or course of study.\n 4. No person shall sell, assign or otherwise transfer for business or\nfor any other purpose to any person any information and material of a\npersonal or private nature acquired from a purchaser of a dissertation,\nthesis, term paper, essay, report or other written assignment without\nthe prior consent of such purchaser. The term "information and material\nof a personal or private nature" as used in this subdivision shall\ninclude, but not be limited to the name of such purchaser, his address\nand telephone number, the name of such educational institution, the name\nor number of the course, the name of the faculty member or members for\nwhom such written assignment has been prepared and any description of\nthe research involved or the nature of such written assignment.\n 5. A violation of the provisions of this section shall constitute a\nclass B misdemeanor.\n 6. The attorney general and district attorney of the county wherein a\nviolation of this section occurs shall have concurrent authority to\ninvestigate and prosecute any violation of this section and any related\nviolations discovered during the course of such investigation.\n 7. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an applica-\ntion also may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people\nof the state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction to\nissue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of not less than\nfive days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violation; and\nif it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the\ndefendant has, in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be\nissued by such court or justice, enjoining and restraining any further\nviolation, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been\ninjured or damaged thereby. In any such proceeding the court may make\nallowances to the attorney general as provided in section eighty-three\nhundred three, subdivision six of the civil practice law and rules. In\nconnection with any such proposed application, the attorney general is\nauthorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant facts\nand to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and\nrules. Additionally, the attorney general may apply in any such\nproceeding for a monetary penalty of not more than one thousand dollars\nper violation.\n