Plagiarism: Difference between revisions

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Note that plagiarism does not necessarily involve [[Copyright]] infringement, or vice versa. A writer can plagiarize a work that is no longer under copyright or was never copyrighted. If writer Joe Smith publishes a play he copied from a [[William Shakespeare]] anthology, Smith is still plagiarizing even though Shakespeare's work is in the public domain. Copyright infringement occurs when Joe Smith uses someone else's copyrighted work without their permission, even if Joe Smith is [[I Do Not Own|upfront about the fact that he is not the author]].

Do not confuse [[Trademark]] infringement with [[Copyright]] infringement. While almost all [[Fan Fiction]] of works not in the [[Public ~~Doman~~]] involves (of necessity) trademark infringement, it would be safe to say that no fan fiction involves plagiarism (and thus copyright infringement) of original sources; it makes no sense when one's target audience would recognize [[Canon]] material immediately. What little copying exists is typically on the level of [[Fair Use]]. (It is not unheard of, though, for would-be fanfic authors to plagiarize works from other fanfic authors.)

Do not confuse [[Trademark]] infringement with [[Copyright]] infringement. While almost all [[Fan Fiction]] of works not in the [[Public Domain]] involves (of necessity) trademark infringement, it would be safe to say that no fan fiction involves plagiarism (and thus copyright infringement) of original sources; it makes no sense when one's target audience would recognize [[Canon]] material immediately. What little copying exists is typically on the level of [[Fair Use]]. (It is not unheard of, though, for would-be fanfic authors to plagiarize works from other fanfic authors.)

It is sometimes debatable if a similar plot, introduced in a different setting and written differently with most of the details changed, still counts as plagiarism. ''[[The Inheritance Cycle]]'' is an example of this, with the first two books having a plot line that is quite similar to ''[[Star Wars]]'' but with many different details and an entirely different setting. Whether or not [[Christopher Paolini]] is actually guilty of plagiarism is [[Serious Business|hotly debated]] between [[Fan Boy|hardcore fans]] and [[Fan Hater]].