Is this an ethical dilemma?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Two or three times a year, I do some freelance proofreading work for a big Korean publishing company. I usually get $1000 - $1200 a shot, for about a weekend’s easy work. Currently I’m working on an English textbook, and I’ve found several passages taken directly from a well-known textbook published in the UK and used all over the world. I’m virtually certain that no permission has been granted, and there is no “used by permission” notice. (I’ve often suspected that passages were lifted from other sources, always without a permission notice, but this is the first time I’ve recognized it clearly–I’ve used the original textbook off and on for years.)

Korea has something of a reputation for such things, not only in publishing, but also in manufacturing. As a long-time resident of Korea, I would like to see this changed. Then again, this company pays me pretty well, and I don’t really want to lose the gig. Also, my name isn’t on the final books, since I don’t contribute to the writing. I’m just a proofreader.

Seems to me I could do any of several things:

  1. Do the job, say nothing, and get paid. After all, the practice isn’t likely to stop.
  2. Warn the Korean publisher that I am aware of the plagiarism, and suggest that others may notice it too. In this case, there’s a tight deadline, so I doubt that my warning would be heeded.
  3. Refuse to do the work. This would cost me a two or three thou a year for some pretty easy work, which would be done gladly by someone else.
  4. Notify the original publisher of the plagiarism, in combination with one of the above options. I have no idea what would happen in this case–I’ve studied and thought a lot about ethics over the years, but not about the legal aspects of this kind of thing. I’m not at all sure about what authority prevails in international situations like this.

I kinda need the money. MrsO isn’t working right now, and the pay for this particular job was going to help replace this ancient computer in front of me. Then again, we won’t starve without it, and I feel a little dirty doing this. Then again, the original publisher is a big, rich company, not likely to suffer because of this. Then again, I hate to be a part of any kind of stealing, cynic though I am. Any comments?

2

  1. Do the job, because you are contractually obligated to do so (at least, I imagine you signed some sort of work agreement here). Then…

  2. Notify the original publisher of the problem, because that is the morally correct thing to do.

3

Do 2 and 4. Find a better way to make extra $$$

4

Do this job, but tell the Korean publisher (in a non-confrontational way) you noticed that they “forgot to credit their source.” Tell them you won’t tell the original publisher this time.

I think that would clear my conscience. And you could finish the job you were contracted to do.

They might not hire you again, but if the situation arose again, you could either tell them in stronger terms or notify the orignal publisher.

Just my 2 cents.

It’s nice to hear about someone with ethics.

5

Can you “proofread” (edit) the passages in question out of the work? If so, do that. If not, I’d say fulfill your contract, note on the manuscript the plaigerized passages and notify the original publisher.

6

I would alert the publisher that the passages seem similar, just to let them know, but don’t make a big deal out of it. If they don’t change it, don’t say a word, but do alert the original publisher after the book is published. Once the book is out, anyone could have reported them, so you won’t lose your job for trying to do the right thing. You’ll have satisfied your obligation to your employer without being a part of their dishonesty, should they decide to publish the book in spite of your warning.

7

I also vote for #2 - mention this to your Korean publisher in a nice, non-confrontational way. If the Korean publishers want to come out with a partially plagiarized book, you aren’t in a position to stop them. #3 would be a futile gesture. But you are in a position to make sure that they realize what they’re doing.

If they ignore your warning and you’re confident that it is plagiarism, then after the book comes out you might want to notify the original publisher as Giraffe recommended. I would recommend notifying them anonymously, and just telling them that you’re someone who noticed the similarity. There’s no need to involve yourself too deeply in this, it’s just good to notify the appropriate people.

If you think that it is not possible to notify the original publisher without putting your job (or future jobs) at risk, then I would say that you’re under no obligation to notify them.

8

A likely problem, IMO, is that the OP will notify his employer of the issue, the employer will nod a thanks for the heads-up, and will do nothing.

Next year, the OP will face working for a CLEARLY unethical company, rather than one that could be given the benefit of the doubt. THAT is when the real decision will have to be made: work for a crook, or cut your income.

9

This is the real problem and unfortunately too many people put ethics on a back-burner in favor of personal gain if the ethical problem doesn’t seem all that bad. This is where the men start getting separated from the boys. Do you merely pay lip service to ethics or back up those words? I think I’m sounding a little more harsh here than a mean to be but this is what it comes down to. The, “If I don’t do it someone else will” defense was shot down at Nuremberg during Nazi war criminal trials as no good. Allowing yourself to do wrong is not mitigated because someone else will do it in your place if you don’t. While the OP doesn’t approach that sort of Nazi nastiness the principle is the same (really…I am NOT equating any of this to Nazis…just an illustration where this sort of thing was dealt with in the past).

The cruddy part is you won’t get rewarded for being ethical beyond your own conscience (unless you believe in karma…this would be a good karmic point in your favor). I suspect even pointing out to the publisher that you spotted plagiarism may see that you don’t get work from them in the future as they’d want to opt for someone less likely to notice or care. If you inform the owner of the original work I doubt you’ll get any reward beyind a thank you.

Hopefully your own conscience is sufficient and hopefully MrsO will be supportive if being ethical means losing this income source. Doing the right thing can be hard enough even with the support of friends and family. If they don’t support it or, worse, hold it against you it is incredibly tough.

FWIW I don’t envy your position but I’m encouraged you are thinking about it. I know more than a few people who it wouldn’t even occur to ask or think about (ignorance can be bliss I guess). Whatever happens best of luck!

10

Maybe I should be more clear about using the Nuremberg example as invoking Nazi anything…especially when it isn’t remotely close to the topic at hand…can be dangerous.

It is not as if the Nuremberg trials established something in philosophy and ethics previously unheard of. It is merely a relatively modern and very public forum where the notins in question were applied strictly.

For the OP I think it comes down to three choices:

Do the Right Thing:
For this you need to assume this source of income may disappear. It might not but best to be ok with losing it than thinking it will probably be there for you in the future and get a nasty surprise. In this case, as others have posted, inform the Korean publisher of the parts you suspect of being plagiarized. If the publisher makes no changes and puts the material out as is inform the copyright holder of the plagiarism (anonymously or not…your choice).

Fudge:
Don’t inform your publisher but inform the copyright holder of the plagiarism anonymously. In one respect you have seen to it that the plagiarists are caught. On the flip-side you are somewhat culpable (maybe not legally but certainly morally) in that you let your publisher walk into the problem without giving them a chance to avoid it. You will however likely keep this income source unless the legal wrangling over the copyright infringment puts them out of business or something (or shuts down this aspect of their publishing business such that they don’t need your proofreading skills).

Take the Money and Run:
Ignore the problem, do the job you were hired for and continue collecting paychecks.

11

I don’t see a problem for him continuing to work for the company even if they publish a plagarized book, as long as he notifies the plagarized party so they can take action. If they keep plagarizing and he keeps reporting them, he’s doing more good than harm. I would say it would be worse to walk away and let some unsuspecting proofreader take his place.

12

But by continuing to work for a crooked company, you’re basically supporting them. Is that the kind of thing you want to be doing?

13

Supporting them? They’re supporting you! And you’re making sure their dark deeds don’t go unnoticed.

14

I think Giraffe’s point might have been that by quitting and/or notifying the Korean publisher, MrO would not actually be impacting the situation at all, whereas if he stays and continues to notify the original publisher(s) every time he notices plagiarism, his behavior may actually make a difference. After my original knee-jerk reaction of “get out of that plagiaristic snakepit,” I am beginning to think that maybe staying AND ratting them out is the best way to deal with it.

Whatever you do, though, MrO, let the original publisher know. It may be small enough potatoes to them that they won’t even care. Then again, it may not. But that’s their decision to make. Your conscience will be clear.

15

Hey, thanks for the replies! Good points, all. I was worried that I was the only one who saw this as an issue at all. I mentioned it to a local coworker, and he snorted and told me to do the job and keep my mouth shut. I really don’t like that option.

Nuremburg! A strong example, but I do get your point. No one is getting killed, I think, but the principle is the same. And like it or not, I do have some principles.

I thought about trying to re-work the passages, but in the past it’s been made clear to me that they don’t want that much help. They just want me to correct the mistakes with the fewest possible changes.

I’ve written a message in the margins, in red, saying that the passages should be replaced or the source should be credited. I suspect that they will indeed nod a thank you and publish it anyway. But who knows–they might actually make some changes. This book is the work of several writers, and it isn’t all of them who are plagiarizing. When the editor reads my note, she will have a chance to directly confront the “writer” who submitted the stolen material, and possibly avoid that person in the future. If they publish the book as is, I can notify the original publisher. That way I’ve tried to prevent the theft, and if that fails, the wronged party gets a chance to take action.

And thanks, heresiarch et al, for reminding me that this can be done non-confrontationally. My first thought was to express my outrage openly. I have been in Asia long enough to know that that sort of thing does not help.

If I don’t get called to do the next book, I’ll know why, and I’ll be okay with that. MrsO will too–she was also indignant about this. (Interestingly, when a mail-order company sent me two pair of shoes last year when I had ordered only one, she thought I was insane for sending one pair back. I really liked those shoes! But in this case, she’s with me.)

Also interestingly, one of the two authors of the original book was on my campus last weekend, promoting some other books. I didn’t even attend, but if I had had this manuscript in my hand at the time, I might have shown it to the author directly.

And finally–yes, I’m more than confident the material was lifted. It’s not just similar, it’s word-for-word, several paragraphs. The only changes are some punctuation mistakes–no space after a period, that kind of thing.

16

I vote for remaining a spy in their midst. Rat them out behind their backs. Keep checking for more instances of plaigarism.

I see no problem taking their money; you are performing a service, and deserve to be paid. Furthermore, your work is benefitting blameless people, the final customers of the books.

Giraffe makes an interesting point about your replacement; one could argue you are dumping the problem in someone else lap by refusing to work for the company.

Still feel guilty about the money? Start activing searching their list; that will take a lot of time, and lower your rate of pay.

You know, if you had called this a ‘moral’ dilemna, my opinion might be different.

17

I can see this as an income-enhancing situation!

Continue to proofread their work for them. And put in the marginal notes identifying plagairized material. It satisfies your ethics, and alerts them just in case they might decide to do the right thing.

And also report them to the rightful owner of this material, who ought to give you a reward for this.

18

Someone I admire deeply uses the following as a sig:

Ethos anthropos daimon. One’s character is one’s fate.

Take that as you will.

19

#4 to be technically ethical. Your professional reputation will not be harmed as since you are a proofreader, you wouldn’t be expected to know anything about the information or where they got it. You are simply proofreading what was given you. Only you can decide if you are comfortable with doing or not doing #3. #3 is tricky, being that it is a textbook. Is the information in the textbook not common knowledge or of previous public domain through other sources? It can get real grey there.

Like at least one person I know of in here, I work for a large aircraft/space company and recently went through the mother of all ethics training setups, a couple hours of team training plus 4 hours in chairs designed by the Marquis De Sade. I learned more about ethics than I ever wanted to know, but it was actually a good presentation. At the moment, I can’t recall the name of the professor that gave it, but it was very good.

If it were me, I would get in contact with the legal division of #4 and get their advisement in writing. That will cover your ass just in case, while allowing you to keep making some dough. Telling someone that you believe that they might be a crook never works out well. They have legal people to govern them. Let the two publishers hash it out between themselves. It isn’t your job to get stuck in the middle.
Telling Publisher A that someone might be stealing their shit is ethical.

20

j66, I’m interested in the ethical/moral distinction you make. I chose the word “ethical” on purpose, but morality is good too, I suppose, as long as I can sleep in on Sunday.:wink:

I’d like to think that I might be rewarded, t-bonham, but I tend toward the “no good deed goes unpunished” camp. Still, if I go to hell, it won’t be for conspiracy to commit plagiarism.

chique - I like it, that sig you quoted. I’m still working out what I think it means, but I like it anyway.

And Turbo Dog, it’s not common knowledge or public domain stuff. It’s a series of conversations, people discussing their weekend plans, talking about what’s wrong with their car, stuff like that. It’s absurdly unlikely that identical conversations could be generated independently. Then again, they are just conversations. It isn’t as if the Korean publisher has claimed credit for the theory of relativity. The original publisher may not care at all. Still, I think they should know.