Re: Plagiarizing

[Ed Gregory <edgregory -at- HOME -dot- NET>]

What you describe is one of the definitions for copyright violation, not
plagiarism.

Plagiarism is a moral distinction, copyright violation a legal one.

Having said that:

Using specific phrasing and language that was used elsewhere in the
client's organization is not plagiarism. Rather, it is using source material.

The original question was vague about where the "good" material was seen,
but for the sake of argument and edification:

At what point does plagiarism begin? A phrase? A sentence? A paragraph?

If I tell a co-worker in an email, "You deserve a break today!"(SM), have I
committed plagiarism?

At what point is a combination of words an original work, protected morally
or legally, from use by others without permission? Who owns the rights to
phrases like:

Have a nice day!
Click here to open the folder
Do Not Bend, Fold, Staple, or Mutillate
Removal of this tag is a violation of federal law.


At 07:54 AM 1/5/99 -0600, Jason Wynia wrote:
>> If the person copies what is in the manuals word for word and
>> does not note
>> the source, then that is plagiarizing.
>
>
>But if the company you work for owns and holds the copyright on all of the
>documentation materials, then, as an agent of the copyright holder, couldn't
>you use the previously written material?  Legally (I'm not a lawyer), under
>such a copyright situation, aren't the old author and the new one the same
>legal entity(the company)?  Since you can't "plagarize" your own work, isn't
>it impossible for a company to do the same thing.
>SNIP>

Ed Gregory
http://www.members.home.net/edgregory/search1.htm


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