Where have I seen that work before? Time after time we witness individuals, deliberately plagiarising other peoples hard work, falsely claiming to be theirs, and not having the courtesy to get permission for use, before publishing. These individuals do not have genuine ideas of their own and find it easier and uplift other authors work, expressions, accreditations and twisting it to suit, often adding offensive, fabricated and ridiculing tones. We, for obvious reasons do not need to pinpoint locally who is carrying out these fraudulent acts, but we are confident, from the antagonistic style and approach of a said party, that the evidence is clear to see. The other work, has no stand for authenticity, as in the words of the author, "its is just there to add clout, you know that, I know that, but the rest don't" It is very simplistic to carry on fooling around, stealing, and being discourteous, but at the end of the day, everyone knows exactly what they are up too.

What is plagiarism?

Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
According to Online Dictionary, to "plagiarise" means:
1) to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
2) to use (another's production) without crediting the source
3) to commit literary theft
4) to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

But can words and ideas really be stolen?
According to law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way (such as a book or a computer file).

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

• turning in someone else's work as your own
• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)

Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed, and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source, is usually enough to prevent plagiarism.

Types of plagiarism
Anyone who has written or marked a paper knows that plagiarism is not always a black and white issue. The boundary between plagiarism and research is often unclear. Learning to recognise the various forms of plagiarism, especially the more ambiguous ones, is an important step towards effective prevention.

Sources Not Cited
"The Ghost Writer" The writer turns in another's work, word-for-word, as his or her own.

"The Photocopy" The writer copies significant portions of text straight from a single source, without alteration.

"The Self-Stealer" The writer "borrows" generously from his or her previous work, violating policies concerning the expectation of originality adopted by most academic institutions.

Sources Cited (but still plagiarised)
"The Misinformer" The writer provides inaccurate information regarding the sources, making it impossible to find them.

"The Perfect Crime" Well, we all know it doesn't exist. In this case, the writer properly quotes and cites sources in some places, but goes on to paraphrase other arguments from those sources without citation. This way, the writer tries to pass off the paraphrased material as his or her own analysis of the cited material.

What are copyright laws?

Copyright laws exist to protect our intellectual property. They make it illegal to reproduce someone else's expression of ideas or information without permission. This can include music, images, written words, video, and a variety of other media.

At one time, a work was only protected by copyright if it included a copyright trademark (the © symbol). According to laws established in 1989, however, works are now copyright protected with or without the inclusion of this symbol.

Anyone who reproduces copyrighted material improperly can be prosecuted in a court of law. It does not matter if the form or content of the original has been altered -- as long as any material can be shown to be substantially similar to the original, it may be considered a violation of the Copyright Act.

What is "fair use," anyway?

The American government has established rough guidelines for determining the nature and amount of work that may be "borrowed" without explicit written consent. These are called "fair use" laws, because they try to establish whether certain uses of original material are reasonable. The laws themselves are vague and complicated. Below we have condensed them into some rubrics you can apply to help determine the fairness of any given usage.

The nature of your use.
If you have merely copied something, it is unlikely to be considered fair use. But if the material has been transformed in an original way through interpretation, analysis, etc., it is more likely to be considered "fair use."

The amount you've used.
The more you've "borrowed," the less likely it is to be considered fair use. What percentage of your work is "borrowed" material? What percentage of the original did you use? The lower the better.

The effect of your use on the original
If you are creating a work that competes with the original in its own market, and may do the original author economic harm, any substantial borrowing is unlikely to be considered fair use. The more the content of your work or its target audience differs from that of the original, the better.

Source: www.turnitin.com

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