What does Plagiarism mean?
Many people compare plagiarism with stealing or borrowing someone else's original ideas or copying someone else's work. However, words like "copying" and "borrowing" might obscure the gravity of the offense.
A "plagiarise," according to Merriam-Webster, is to:
- to copy and pass off (another's thoughts or words) as one's own
- to exploit (another's creation) without giving credit to the creator
- to conduct textual treachery
- to represent a well-known source's idea or product as unique and original
In other words, plagiarism is a form of deception. It entails both stealing and lying about others' work.
Can words and concepts, however, truly be stolen?
Your answer is yes, even according To the law. Thoughts and ideas, like original inventions, are considered intellectual property and are protected by copyright laws. Copyright protects almost all forms of expression as long as they are documented in some way (such as a book or a computer file).
All of the following are examples of plagiarism:
- submitting another person's work as your own
- using someone else's concepts or ideas without providing credit
- not putting a quote in quotation marks
- providing inaccurate information regarding a quotation's source
- Replacing words but replicating a source's phrase structure without providing credit
- duplicating far too many ideas or words from a source that constitute the most of your work, whether or not you give the credit (see our section on "fair use" rules)
Most occurrences of plagiarism, however, may be prevented simply by attributing sources. Recognizing that particular material has been taken and giving your audience the information needed to locate the source is typically sufficient to prevent plagiarism. More advice on how to correctly cite sources may be found in our referencing section.
The Witcher: DOWNLOAD
What about photographs, video clips, and music and songs?
Using a picture, video, or piece of music in a work you created without gaining approval or providing adequate reference is considered plagiarism. In today's society, the following activities are highly common. Despite their popularity, they are considered plagiarism.
- Copying and pasting material (particularly pictures) from other sites into your own papers or web pages.
- Making a film with footage from other people's videos or utilizing music files containing copyright as a soundtrack.
- Presenting someone else's copyrighted music (i.e., playing a cover).
- Composing a piece of music that strongly takes from some other musical composition.
Indeed, digital media present scenarios in which determining whether or not copyrights are being violated can be difficult. As an example:
- A photograph or scan of a copyrighted image (for example, putting a picture of a cover page on one's website to promote that book)
- Making an audio or video recording with copyrighted music or film playing in the background.
- Reproducing a visual creation in the same media (For example, taking an image with the same composition and subject matter as another photographer)
- Making a painting that closely mimics another person's photos.
- Even if done in an innovative fashion, re-mixing or changing copyrighted pictures, videos, or music is prohibited.
The goal and context in which these and other circumstances are established would determine their legality. In these cases, the two safest options are to 1) avoid them entirely, or 2) confirm the works' usage permissions and appropriately reference them.