On Thu, 9 Aug 2001, Christopher Angel wrote:
I'm hoping the Admins don't count this as spam, because I feel it's a
worthwhile topic....
How should I handle plagiarism? I've been informed by a well-meaning person
that someone has stolen whole paragraphs out of one of my fictions. I'm
assuming this has happened to others before, and I wonder what people advise
I should do.
Well, seeing as how it's something that other people will have to deal
with at some point, and that it's relevant to writing fiction (fan based
or not), and that I don't ever recall seeing a topic like this banned...
First, do you have confirmation that such an event has occured? I know
that I've felt that one writer on this list has TWICE written fics that
are suspiciously close to ones I'd written earlier, but after I'd calmed
down and examined them more closely, I could not see any evidence of
plagerism. (Mine were still much better, of course. ^_^)
Second, if you have seen this evidence yourself, and you believe that it
is indeed stolen, then I would contact the writer, the group that he's
part of, and any associated hosting service, and explain that you feel
that your work has been taken without your knowledge. Quote all the
examples that you can find of this, first with your work, followed by the
thief, for each example. If it's truly plagiarism, it should be pretty
evident to any reader. Finally, I would conclude with the statement that
while you're not looking to deal with punative action at the moment,
you're willing to protect your claim to your ideas, and that you would
like a reply by a certain time to either remove the said material, or come
up with a convincing explaination (1 business week, or whatever). Keep
your tone throught the letter polite, but firm.
Above all, try not to let your feelings interfere with your objectivity
and professionalism. If you've found this out just today, wait until
tomorrow before voicing your complaint to give yourself time to cool off.
This is probably the most important thing you can do. Most people are
receptive to complaints of this nature. Mailing lists, and small groups
dedicated to writing (fanfics or otherwise), are likely to not want to be
associated with a plagiarist, as it kills their credability, and will be
eager to help. However, no one wants to deal with a person who is angry,
or attacking them, and if you're openly hostile to the people you're
writing to, it may put them on the defensive. It may also be an honest
mistake; the person may have been quoting you and had merely forgotten
that he had not asked for your permission, in which case hostility may
leave a well-intentioned fan feeling hurt.
Finally, in case they do decide to despute your claim ("I wrote it first;
go prove it otherwise!"), I would suggest that you find some place that
keeps the records of when you've written something. A pity the netimages
archive isn't still up, but if the Mini-archive was up when you've posted
your fic, you could always refer people to the posting date, and give the
URLs for both your fic in the archive, as well as the archive in general.
Basically, you want to use public resources, so they can make their own
verifications if they are suspicious of you.
Even if the fic falls in the timeperiod when the FFML post archive was
down, and the miniarchive was not yet established (I believe that covers a
year or two...I don't recall offhand, though), you do have your fans, many
of which would doubtlessly remember that you posted that fic. If the
plagurist, the group he's writing to, or the people hosting "his" work
insists on disputing it with you, then start collecting names and email
addresses of people who support you, and make it public. If you can get
word around the fanfic community that so-and-so people support plagurists
and that their own writing is not safe, you may find them more willing to
deal with you. Of course, this option is more time consuming, and I would
not pursue it unless all other avenues of diplomacy have failed.
There is always threat of lawsuit. You may not own all the characters you
write about, but you do own your writing. Plagerism is theft of your
creative work. I would not expect to go in and reap monetary benefits of
such an action, though. The real threat of a lawsuit is the bad publicity
that it would generate for someone, which is why it might be effective
against a large company. You don't have to win the lawsuit, to win.
Settling out of court (remove the content, ban and blacklist the
plagiarist, or we'll keep people talking about the evil goliath company
attacking poor Christopher) would likely also be effective.
This is what I could think of, in order of escalation. I'm sorry I can't
give more detailed ideas, but since I don't know exactly what was stolen,
by whom, for whom, and supported by whom, I don't have any more specific
advice. If anyone has any facts that disagree with what I have stated,
please let me know.
-Natsume Ranma Ranma
-------
The sardines weren't worth the trouble. A few more shots, then
Ryoga-san would overheat and explode. Ducking around a corner,
I managed to lose him as I entered the ramshackle residence of
my Anime supplier.
One look at his face and I knew that I had been betrayed. "Tell me,"
I insisted. He refused, so I slammed him against the wall.
"Last chance. Where can Ranma-Ranma find good fanfics?"
"Try Jason Liao," he whispered, before he slumped to the floor.
I heard the sounds of a door splintering as I left through the
window, one step ahead of Tendo Heavy Industries...
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