Plagiarism
Plagiarism is one of those things that is a big problem. It always has been, but it has gotten even worse because of the internet. There are more opportunities to plagiarize and more opportunities to display work. If you have an online presence and tend to write a lot in a blog or writing articles online, there is a possibility that someone could be stealing your work. And the problem isn’t just online, it’s everywhere.
By definition, Plagiarism is basically when someone takes something you write and calls it their own. The only exception to this would be if you wrote something for someone else and you sold them all of the rights. This means that they can do with it whatever they want, including putting their name on it. This is called ghost writing and it is perfectly acceptable. However, if someone takes your things and calls it their own without having ANY of the rights, this is illegal.
If you are a writer, there are ways you can protect yourself. First, understand that as soon as you write something, you own the copyright. If someone steals your work, there are things you can do. But, it doesn’t mean that you will be able to do them. First, you will want to contact the person who did it and politely tell them that they should not steal your work and that they should take it down off of their website. If this doesn’t work, you may want to consider brining in a lawyer.
Plagiarism is a big problem. To the person who does it, it may not seem like a big deal. But to a writer, that is something that is unthinkable and even violating. If someone takes your work and passes it off as their own, understand that there are some things you can do. Contact the person and see if they will cooperate. If not, hire a lawyer. Find a lawyer that you trust who can help you out. If this happens to you a lot, it is definitely worth the cost of the legal help.
There is a side of it that is not as obvious. Even if you just copy a sentence, even if you didn’t mean it, you could be plagiarizing someone else. So people have to be careful in both respects.
