Plagiarism : Creative Writing

Wanting to give up online, its something- I feel everyday.

I am certain many online writers feel that way, we really don’t get credit for what we do.

I promise myself I am going to stop doing it, and tell myself constantly

I will give up this time, but I never do.

A few days ago I started to watch the beginning of a movie and the dialog was so close to mine, I almost sank in my chair. The writer announced they study online- in the dialog. Is it fair that writers who are inside the entertainment industry are allowed to study trends and use others words?

Plagiarism is the most common disease among writers.

I have noticed it in music, and many movie, TV dialogs, its big business. Actually people would be shocked if they realized how often dialog of words is repeating, including in titles. And it works-

If people recognize a bleep- term- sound byte or term-age

they are more likely to listen to it, read it, get seduced by it and buy something from it and NOTICE=hear it- the more often its repeated, rarely remembering where they read or heard it first-

Writers often take the problems of the day, social ills, injustice and trends into account when we write. -

It wouldn’t be so bad to me if “some” didn’t always take what you write and somehow twist it into something vain, selfish and to make zero point. What is worse is - they often think they are making a point.

The protection of words is almost impossible, when I went to study it at the copyright office, the shocking fact is- the language in the law is -very open and it’s hard to sue someone for it.

Many rely on the fact it is, they know- especially professional writers just how far, you can do it.

In fact, I do it, sometimes to make a point, because I know how far I can do it. Except I generally take the bleep and use it to work it the better direction. I find it fun to play with words and its fun to take a famous statement and twist it to mean something else. When you do know how far-that it is allowed- legally.

Writers should always understand the legality of what they do.

Is there any way to protect your words? You can file a copyright but in reality, you have to have the money and means to protect it.

Which means you generally have to hire an attorney from the state they live in, plus one in your state. Then the attorney sends a cease and desist, a person can do that too. You can warn people they are infringing. That is the most common first route. -

Once I named a perfume online “love potion” feeling the words had been used since the dawn of time. Certainly no one owned those words in my opinion and its been used in many books, and references to perfume. Lo and behold one day I received an email from a lady who claimed online to own the title in a Trademark. I didn’t believe she owned the term “love potion #9” because its obviously the Beetles owned that, she interpreted that I could not use the term, love potion, I knew I could. But decided just to delete it, off line not because I was afraid of being sued but because it was just a picture online, of a one of a kind batch of perfume.

And I wasn’t offering it for sale online, nor did I have any intention of trying to sale, market or distribute it. And it was a loose interpretation of laws I knew and I knew I could leave it, but just to be nice I removed it.

I did not make money off it, and therefore it wasn’t an infringement.

It was just a pretty bottle of perfume shown online to entertain people and was used as a visual test market procedure, I do online. Nothing more or less.

I knew she was pushing her terms of the law, and was cyber bullying me into backing down, because I make it a point to know the law.

And every writer should-

Generally titles or terms are trademarked, it goes in categories. For example if you owned the term “love potion” it would be in the category of cosmetics, perfume. But using it in other areas, it would not be protected under the law. It costs a bunch of money to trademark, and it takes constant maintained efforts to keep it. First you have a filing fee, then you wait for a search-

Searches for Trademarks can- now can be done online. You may want to do that if you are writing a book, or have something you would like to own. You pay for the search, and the filing fees, and they are not cheep and then it costs more, then you have to file “intent to use.” Which basically means you intend to use it in commerce and you have to prove you are using it.

Then it costs more fees and your granted only temporary usage until you use it in commerce.

Then of course there is the domain registry- online. You have to own the term in the search engine. However, that doesn’t mean you own the term in a trademark, in other words you may own the domain name but not the copyright or trademark.

The computer has created a nightmare of ownership of terms, and language. Often people who write online do so under a created identity. No one knows who these people are, they often call themselves professional but aren’t. They also hide under images, and have no real address, and they can create an email ID anywhere.

Making it impossible to police it online and the laws are not yet determined for online plagiarism.

A professional identifies themselves with contact information. They face their audience and don’t hide under an ID.

A series and or serious

writer takes under consideration who does own a term, line to a song or statement. This is why in contests you are asked to never use cliché’s, the usage of them should be in a new form of communication.

It all becomes very complicated for a few words, you may own, don’t own or if you did write it originally, if its posted online.

And its good you can be certain by tomorrow you don’t own it.

If you write it online-

Or certainly would play hell, and a bunch of money to protect it.

It only becomes worth money if someone uses it to make money.

The lesson of the day is

Think twice before you

Commit

Plagiarism

people do own words

One good way I have found to see if someone owns words- is to search them online, if you can’t find it in a reference used for the last one hundred years, you could maybe own it. But then you have to spend money to own it, for something you don’t get paid for by uploading it online. Its just a kind thing to do- and the right choice

TO BE ORIGINAL

Please think before

You commit plagiarism

You can go to hell for that too.