# I have been plagiarized **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 18, 2020, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107 "2020-02-18T09:13:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/21 "2020-02-18T20:39:16Z")
Are you asking for examples of legal action being taken due to plagiarism? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/22 "2020-02-18T20:40:49Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Are you asking for examples of legal action being taken due to plagiarism? No, I’m asking on what grounds lawyers might get involved. Plagiarism is not a tort and it’s not a crime. (Speaking only of the US here.) On what basis would they bring suit? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/23 "2020-02-18T20:43:48Z")
I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know what the legal answer to “on what grounds” would be, but since you seem to be aware such lawsuits exist, why are you asking? I said “lawyers still take legal action against plagiarism.” Again, you seem to be aware this is the case. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/24 "2020-02-18T20:46:28Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Yet lawyers still take legal action against plagiarism, which is why it could matter. Can you give an example? Lawyer do take actions against (alleged) copyright violations, but copyright violation and plagiarism are not necessarily the same thing. Something can violate copyright AND be plagiarism, but something can violate copyright while not being plagiarism, and something can also plagiarize another work without violating copyright. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/25 "2020-02-18T20:50:09Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > since you seem to be aware such lawsuits exist, why are you asking? I don’t know where you got that idea. The only grounds in a plagiarism suit like this is the copyright infringement. Since the Dope’s copyright has not been infringed in this case, the Dope’s parent company’s lawyers won’t care because it’s not their problem. It’s on the OP to pursue legal remedy. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/26 "2020-02-18T20:52:28Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Lawyer do take actions against (alleged) copyright violations, but copyright violation and plagiarism are not necessarily the same thing. Okay. I’m going by the words used in media reports of plagiarism lawsuits that I’ve read over the years. Maybe they were all technically suits regarding “copyright violation” or something else. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/27 "2020-02-18T20:53:31Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Lawyer do take actions against (alleged) copyright violations, but copyright violation and plagiarism are not necessarily the same thing. Ah, I bet that’s why **x-ray** and I were talking past each other. Thanks. > [@](#): > > Something can violate copyright AND be plagiarism, but something can violate copyright while not being plagiarism, and something can also plagiarize another work without violating copyright. The example I like to give is If you copied Moby Dick, and you tried to pass it off as your own work, then you’d be guilty of plagiarism. But not guilty of copyright infringement, because Moby Dick is in the public domain–there’s no copyright to infringe. So it’s not a crime. But it can ruin you. If you copied Pet Sematary, and you tried to pass it off as your own, then you’d be guilty of both plagiarism and copyright infringement because that book is copyrighted. Stephen King would sue you. And he would send an otherworldly horror to haunt you. If you copied The Hobbit without permission, but you gave credit to Tolkien, then you’d only be guilty of copyright infringement, not plagiarism, because The Hobbit is copyrighted, but you didn’t pass it off as your own. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/28 "2020-02-18T21:00:21Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Ah, I bet that’s why **x-ray** and I were talking past each other. Thanks. > > The example I like to give is > > If you copied Moby Dick, and you tried to pass it off as your own work, then you’d be guilty of plagiarism. But not guilty of copyright infringement, because Moby Dick is in the public domain–there’s no copyright to infringe. So it’s not a crime. But it can ruin you. > > If you copied Pet Sematary, and you tried to pass it off as your own, then you’d be guilty of both plagiarism and copyright infringement because that book is copyrighted. Stephen King would sue you. And he would send an otherworldly horror to haunt you. > > If you copied The Hobbit without permission, but you gave credit to Tolkien, then you’d only be guilty of copyright infringement, not plagiarism, because The Hobbit is copyrighted, but you didn’t pass it off as your own. If you found a publisher foolish enough to publish Moby Dick under your name, you might be guilty of fraud, as well, since you would likely have signed a contract stating that you were the owner of the copyright of the work - which you weren’t. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/29 "2020-02-18T21:03:58Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > If you found a publisher foolish enough to publish Moby Dick under your name, you might be guilty of fraud, as well, since you would likely have signed a contract stating that you were the owner of the copyright of the work - which you weren’t. True that. Warranty and indemnity clauses can really chew up an inattentive author, since the publisher usually has no obligation to help defend their author. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/30 "2020-02-18T22:13:13Z")
It’s starting to sound like pursuing this will add one item to the list of ways to be unhappy. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/31 "2020-02-18T23:38:33Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s starting to sound like pursuing this will add one item to the list of ways to be unhappy. I was wondering how it went from “75” to “76.” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/32 "2020-02-19T00:11:57Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I did a site search on Google and got nothing. > > Perhaps your post was during the Winter of Missed Content? > > Either that or you’re remembering the key words wrong. I couldn’t do much better after removing the site restriction, either. By date of publication, Brownson, T. (2008, February 27). 14 Great Ways To Be Miserable. Retrieved from [https://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/12-great-ways-to-be-miserable/](https://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/12-great-ways-to-be-miserable/) Moore, G. [Speedygeoff]. (2008, December 18). diselaboration. _School of Running_. Retrieved from [http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2008/12/diselaboration.html](http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2008/12/diselaboration.html) Romeo, L. & Romeo, N. (2009, February 1). _11,002 Things to Be Miserable About: The Satirical Not-So-Happy Book_. Harry N. Abrams. DrastaSearch. (2009, March 11). _How to be Miserable_ [Video]. YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6TN-o9NeQM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6TN-o9NeQM) Nathanson, C. (2009, October 11). The top 10 ways to be unhappy at work, especially after 40! Retrieved from [https://drcraignathanson.com/top-10-ways-unhappy-work-especially-40/](https://drcraignathanson.com/top-10-ways-unhappy-work-especially-40/) Wade, M. (2010, April 6). 12 Ways to be Miserable at Work. _U.S. News & World Report_. Retrieved from [https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2010/04/16/12-ways-to-achieve-unhappiness](https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2010/04/16/12-ways-to-achieve-unhappiness) Chernoff, M. (2010, November 29). 75 Ways To Stay Unhappy Forever. _Marc and Angel Hack Life_. Retrieved from [https://www.marcandangel.com/2010/11/29/75-ways-to-stay-unhappy-forever/](https://www.marcandangel.com/2010/11/29/75-ways-to-stay-unhappy-forever/) Guillebeau, C. (2012). How To Be Unhappy. _The Art of Non-Conformity_. Retrieved from [https://chrisguillebeau.com/unhappy/](https://chrisguillebeau.com/unhappy/) Walker, C. (2013, March 4). 75 Reasons You’re Unhappy (And 75 Solutions). _Dumb Little Man_. Retrieved from [https://www.dumblittleman.com/75-reasons-youre-unhappy-and-75/](https://www.dumblittleman.com/75-reasons-youre-unhappy-and-75/) Paterson, R. (2016, May 1). _How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use_. New Harbringer Publications. Nemacolin. (2016, October 18). _76 Keys to Being Unhappy, by Me_ [Online forum post]. Reddit. [https://www.reddit.com/r/lists/comments/583xhg/76\_keys\_to\_being\_unhappy\_by\_me/](https://www.reddit.com/r/lists/comments/583xhg/76_keys_to_being_unhappy_by_me/) Paul in Qatar. (2017, February 14). _One example of a file that…_ [Online forum post]. STM Reader. [POST=19999321][https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19999321#post19999321[/POST]](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19999321#post19999321%5B/POST%5D) Grey, C. G. [CGP Grey]. (2017, May 31). _7 Ways to Maximize Misery_ [Video]. YouTube. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO1mTELoj6o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO1mTELoj6o) gwindylyn [g]. (2018, June 5). 85 Ways to Stay Unhappy Forever. _The Submission of g_. Retrieved from [http://thesubmissionofg.com/85-ways-to-stay-unhappy-forever/](http://thesubmissionofg.com/85-ways-to-stay-unhappy-forever/) ASMR\_Brainwash. (2019, October 21). _76 Keys to Being Unhappy, by Me (Crosspost)_ [Online forum post]. Reddit. [https://www.reddit.com/r/your\_lists/comments/dl1mn3/76\_keys\_to\_being\_unhappy\_by\_me/](https://www.reddit.com/r/your_lists/comments/dl1mn3/76_keys_to_being_unhappy_by_me/) There’s more, but mostly reposts of the same blog by Marc Chernoff. There’s a couple random blog posts with numbers nowhere near 75 that I left out because I couldn’t determine the date. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/33 "2020-02-19T00:44:02Z")
Thank you all. Thanks to **X-Ray Vision.** ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107/34 "2020-02-19T14:54:47Z")
The oldest backup I can find of it is from early 2013. Just by the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-plagiarized/848107.md?page=1)