Plagiarism and Copyright Pamela Dear EDU 566 – Summer 2002 Professor Persson Permission Granted for Educational Non-profit Uses

What is plagiarism? Using someone else’s words or ideas and claiming that they are your own.

Have you ever borrowed something from a friend, like a bike? If someone asks you about it, you admit right away that it belongs to someone else. YOU DON’T OWN IT.

Words, thoughts and ideas belong to the person who thought of them first. They are called INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY is more than just writing, it includes art, music, drama, and choreography too.

It is just as important to acknowledge that intellectual property belongs to someone else as it is to admit that someone else owns the bike.

If you claim that you wrote all of the words and don’t acknowledge the true author, YOU ARE PLAGIARIZING. PLAGIARIZING IS STEALING AND IT IS ILLEGAL.

DON’T PLAGIARIZE. BE ORIGINAL! Use your own words/paraphrase. Close the book or turn off the computer monitor after your read something so that you are not tempted to use the author’s words when you write your notes. Don’t cut and paste.

But you think it sounds so much better the way the author wrote it. If you can’t think of a way to paraphrase it, then USE QUOTES AND REFER TO WHERE YOU FOUND THE WORDS. It is perfectly acceptable to include someone else’s words if you point out that they are not yours.

In research papers we call it “citing” when you acknowledge that the words belong to someone else. A bibliography is a list of the sources you used. A citation or quote tells which source in the bibliography the words came from.

On the other hand…don’t go overboard with the quotes or there won’t be enough of your own thoughts in the paper. The teacher wants to know what you think.

Plagiarism is cheating, but you are really cheating yourself. If you don’t think you can write well, using someone else’s words will not help you learn to write. It is the same thing as sending a friend to your piano lesson or baseball practice: you will never play a concerto or hit a home run.

Remember:  Teachers have access to everything you do…if you found it, so can they.  Don’t assume you can get away with cheating, you will only cheat yourself.  Say what you think…no one else can.

There are laws which protect the rights of the people who create INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. THESE ARE COPYRIGHT LAWS.

The laws are not new… George Washington signed the first copyright law in the United States.

What does copyright do? Copyright gives the owner/creator the rights to decide how the work will be used. 1. Right of reproduction – how and when it will be copied. 2. Right of distribution – how and when copies will be given or sold. 3. Right of adaptation – how and when the work can be changed. 4. Right of public display or public performance – how and when it will be shown.

How long does copyright last? Copyrights last for a very long time and they can be renewed. After a copyright expires, the work becomes part of the “public domain.” This just means that anyone can use it, but you can still not claim it as your own.

How do you know if something is copyrighted? First look for the copyright notice, marked by a ©. If there is no ©, look for a public domain notice. If neither appears, you have to assume that it is copyrighted and treat it that way. For the past 20 years intellectual property has been protected by copyright even without the ©.

How about stuff on the Internet?  Treat the things on the Internet exactly the same way you would treat anything else.  Sometimes the website tells you that the material is free and available for copying.  Other times you can see the © and you know it is copyrighted. If you don’t see anything…assume it is copyrighted.

My teacher makes copies for handouts.  There are exceptions to the copyright rule and these are called “Fair Use” rules.  Teachers are included in the Fair Use exemptions and are allowed to make one copy per student.  If they want to use the material differently from what Fair Use allows, they have to get permission from the copyright holder.

What can students do with copyrighted material legally?  Students can make a single copy of copyrighted material for their class work, but they must reference the source.  Students can also create a link to Internet material on their web pages. By creating the link, the students don’t actually move or touch the original.

Remember: Copyright registration is not necessary to be protected by copyright laws. Teachers and students own copyright for their own work. If someone takes your words or your work without your permission, and claims it for their own, it is plagiarism.

Say what you think…no one else can say it better.

Bibliography and Further Reading ICONnect Online Courses, Lesson 2: Copyright. Available at Georgetown University Honor Council. “What is Plagiarism?” available Minkel, Walter. “Web of Deceit.” School Library Journal. April 1, Online at A A United States Copyright Office at The Copyright Web site at