Plagiarism vs Copyright Infringement: Not so Obvious

Question: 'Ramesh wrote an article on environmental issues without permission but used ideas taken from his friend Vikram's thesis. No copyright notice was put. Can it be said that Ramesh has committed copyright infringeiment?'

Seems simple, right? Most of us would think yes, it's straight-forward copyright infringement. But think again! Here's the catch - Vikram himself hasn't taken any necessary formalities for his thesis, it's not even registered. So, does it have copyright protection? Most students would say yes, because it's their work. But hold on... Ramesh didn't copy from a published work or any registered material. Vikram needs to prove ownership of his work first, before Ramesh can be held liable. The answer lies in the fact that original ideas and mere ideas aren't copyright-able, only expression of those ideas is.