What is plagiarism?

Webster's Dictionary defines it as:

": to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (a created production) without crediting the source.

: to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source."

Wake Forest University defines it as:

"To put your name on a piece of work is to say that it is yours, that the praise or criticism due to it is due to you. To put your name on a piece of work any part of which is not yours is plagiarism, unless that piece is clearly marked and the work from which you have borrowed is fully identified. Plagiarism is a form of theft. Taking words, phrasing, sentence structure, or any other element of the expression of another person’s ideas, and using them as if they were yours, is like taking from that person a material possession, something he or she has worked for and earned. Even worse is the appropriation of someone else’s ideas. By "ideas" is meant everything from the definition or interpretation of a single word, to the overall approach or argument. If you paraphrase, you merely translate from his or her language to yours; another person’s ideas in your language are still not your ideas. Paraphrase, therefore, without proper documentation, is theft, perhaps of the worst kind. Here, a person loses not a material possession, but something of what characterized him or her as an individual. Plagiarism is a serious violation of another person’s rights, whether the material stolen is great or small; it is not a matter of degree or intent. You know how much you would have had to say without someone else’s help; and you know how much you have added on your own. Your responsibility, when you put your name on a piece of work, is simply to distinguish between what is yours and what is not, and to credit those who have in any way contributed."

Another view on copyright infringement by Elizabeth Gardner:

"In the euphoria of surfing around the Web looking for just the right photo, music bite, or graphical embellishment to add to a page design, it's easy to forget that those tidbits were created by someone. And the creators might be quite annoyed to find their creations redeployed without credit or payment--perhaps annoyed enough to sue. If they do sue, they can potentially collect statutory damages of up to $100,000 per unauthorized use, even if it didn't cost them a dime in actual damages."

However you define it, I hate it. It stinks. 3 times this year alone I have had to deal with people who have basically stolen my entire site word for word. One was a 5th grade student, one was a 16 year old girl, and one was a high school teacher from New Jersey. Can you believe it? The teacher took my work, word for word, and when I confronted her she replied "I did not plagiarize your page, I may have taken your idea, but I did not plagiarize." (sounds a little like Clinton to me hehe =) My entire site was on her page, word for word, she claimed it as her own and even had a copyright symbol on her page, but she did not "plagiarize." She has removed her site and I am relieved. But why should anyone have to work so hard to keep people from stealing their work?

Protect Yourself!

There are a few things you can do as a Web master:

• Protect your bandwidth with a simple .htaccess file uploaded to your main directory:
  
  I have had a lot of trouble with people direct linking to my images. The biggest problem I have with it is that it costs me so much money in bandwidth charges when people direct link. Bandwidth theft is also a big problem for those with free graphics sites. As long as you own your own domain, or your free host allows you to upload .htaccess files, preventing direct linking is a very simple thing to do. You upload a txt file which you name .htaccess . On the text file, add these lines:
  
  RewriteEngine on
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?yourdomain.com/.*$ [NC]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://(www\.)?yourdomain.com.*$ [NC]
  RewriteRule \.(gif|jpg)$ - [F]
  
  Change nothing in the above lines except for your domain name. Upload the text file, named .htaccess, to your main directory. It's that easy. As long as your host supports mod rewrite, no one will be able to direct link to your .gif or .jpg images!!!
  
  If you're using more than one .htaccess file, you would just combine them. My .htaccess file looks like this:
  
  
  
  
• Protect your HTML and graphics with a "no right click" script."
  
  The following script (used here with written permission from barts1000@aol.com) will disable the right click on your page. When someone right clicks to save an image off your page, a message will come up letting people know that your information is copyrighted. This script only works on the newer browsers, and it's not foolproof. If someone really wants something from your page they can find ways around it, but at least it's a warning to people who want to take your graphics. Just copy and paste the following code, and make sure it comes right after your <head> tag:
  
  <script language="JavaScript"> <!-- // No rightclick script v.2.5 // (c) 1998 barts1000 // barts1000@aol.com // Don't delete this header! var message="Sorry, that function is disabled.\n\nContents & Graphics Copyright ©your name\nOur work is not Public Domain, and should NOT be taken from this site."; // Message for the alert box // Don't edit below! function click(e) { if (document.all) { if (event.button == 2) { alert(message); return false; } } if (document.layers) { if (e.which == 3) { alert(message); return false; } } } if (document.layers) { document.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN); } document.onmousedown=click; // --> </script>
  
  
  
• Protect your content and graphics with a paper copy of your site. Any time you print from the Web, the date and URL are printed on the page also. At least this offers some proof of the date of your page. You can also mail yourself a copy of your site, but DON'T open it. The date postmarked will show the start date of your site.
  
  
• Protect your content and graphics with a registered copyright from the Library of Congress. Your work on the net is automatically copyrighted when you publish your page, but you don't have much protection if your page isn't officially registered with the copyright office.
  
  
• Protect your graphics with a watermark or other identifying mark. Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro both have options to watermark your graphics.
  
  

What Next?

If you find that your work (graphics or content) has been plagiarized, you can take these steps to resolve your problem:

• E-mail the person who has taken your work and let them know they need to remove it. Most of the time people are really embarrassed that you caught them and they will remove your graphics or content.
  
  
• E-mail the person's Web host (AOL, Geocities, Angelfire...) and tell them specifically what belongs to you and that you would like the other person to remove your work.
  
  
• Talk to a copyright attorney.
  
  

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