by Amelia Schaffer

Created on: September 23, 2009

Plagiarism is the act of taking credit for another person's work. Adding material from other sources, changing parts of the plagiarized content, or plagiarizing by accident instead of paraphrasing or properly citing quotes are not excuses for plagiarism or circumstances in which plagiarism is okay. Regardless of how much additional research a person did, or how good a student or writer they are in general,

plagiarism can be a traumatic experience for the victim, especially if other people don't take it seriously.

The first step to take when you find out you've been plagiarized is to go to the people in charge. In an academic setting, this is a professor or academic adviser. Online, this is the person or company hosting the plagiarized content. When dealing with published works, this is the publishing company.

This may seem to skip a step; shouldn't you go to the plagiarist first? The truth is that talking to the plagiarist directly is usually a bad idea. Whether or not they plagiarized intentionally, they will have reason to deny that they did so. You will be forced to escalate the situation anyway, but the plagiarist will now have time to put together a defense. This is the worst thing that can happen to your ability to prove a case. It is best to contact someone in charge and let them deal with the plagiarist - who, when taken by surprise, will generally reveal their guilt through poor excuses, a result of being forced to think on their feet.

If the first person you speak to does not support your case, it is time to escalate the situation. In an academic setting, this might be the Dean of Students or the head of a department. Online, this might be the hosting service of an offending web site. Don't be patient about bringing the situation to the next level. The longer you wait, the longer the plagiarist has to gather defenses, and the more likely the people in charge - or even your former moral supporters - will try to tell you that it happened too long ago, as if ethical violations just go away if you ignore them.

Plagiarism, in the realm of the law, is a matter for civil court, not a criminal offense. Taking a plagiarist to court, however, is a very big step. It should only be done if you have exhausted all other means and if the plagiarist is earning money from your work. People who rush to court miss the important step before it: public shaming. Plagiarists and other dishonest people do not deserve to have their offenses hidden, and negative publicity is usually enough motivation to make plagiarists change their ways.

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