Are You an Unintentional Plagiarist? - Writers Forum

valeca · 07-13-2006, 01:26 PM

Are You an Unintentional Plagiarist?

Plagiarism is something we’ve all worried about at one time or another. We want to protect our creations, and quite naturally so. But, Plagiarism, like so many other things, is a two way street. As reader/writers we often come across an idea or concept in our reading that really touches us, inspires us, and motivates us to want to create as well. It’s at this point that the slope can become treacherously slippery and lead us in a direction we didn’t intend to follow. Plagiarism.

Many of us know the basic concepts of plagiarism. Don’t use someone else’s work without permission or proper credit. Period. Most of us wouldn’t even consider the idea of plagiarizing someone else’s hard work. But what about the Unintentional Plagiarist? The adoring fan who thinks they’re paying homage to the original author? The one who falls madly in love with a concept/idea/character and wants to give them recognition as one of the ‘Greats!’? Even with the best of intentions spurring them on, this is one of many formulas that create the Unintentional Plagiarist.

Writer’s Market defines plagiarism:

Quote:

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Plagiarism

Using or closely imitating another person's material without permission, acknowledgment or compensation, representing it as one's own work. Plagiarism is illegal when it involves infringement of copyright. Under copyright law, an individual found guilty of infringement of copyright is liable for either (1) actual damages suffered by the copyright owner as a result of the infringement, and any profits of the infringer that are attributable to the infringement; or (2) instead of actual damages and profits, statutory damages of a sum of not less than $250 nor more than $10,000, as the court considers just. Additional remedies for infringement are detailed in the copyright law.
Plagiarism may also occur legally—that is, without copyright infringement—when material in the public domain, noncopyrighted works, or works in which the copyright has expired are reprinted under claimed authorship of the plagiarist. While this type of plagiarism is not illegal, it is nevertheless unethical. A writer discovered to be a plagiarist of uncopyrighted works, while not liable under the law, will nonetheless establish an exceedingly bad reputation for himself as an author.
To avoid plagiarism, a writer should give full credit to his sources of information and obtain written permission from copyright owners to use their copyrighted material in his own work.

(Bold and underline added for effect)

Please, look carefully at your work. Does it fall into the category of plagiarism? Unintentional plagiarism?

Fortunately, there is a 100% cure rate for the Unintentional Plagiarist, with very few withdrawal symptoms and even fewer public relapses. If you suspect yourself or a friend of being an Unintentional Plagiarist, contact your local writing community for help in identifying the story elements causing this affliction.

While I hoped to keep this light-hearted, plagiarism in any form is a serious offence with very serious repercussions. Please check your work carefully. Examine the plots, characters, concepts and even the inspiration for the story; make sure they’re as original as you’d hoped. Don’t let the Unintentional Plagiarist happen to you.

If you suspect plagiarism on Writingforums.com, please inform a moderator, mentor supervisor, or even admin of the post (provide a link) and they will look into it.

Selorian · 07-13-2006, 09:03 PM

This was posted in multiple spots here at WF at the request of a Supervisor. It is important information needing to reach as many people as possible.