Is fanfic, in fact, plagiarism? I know it's illegal-ish in many ways, but isn't plagiarism actually stealing people's words (and maybe altering some details like names and eye and hair colour, but basically stealing them)?
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Plagiarism is taking some one's idea and words and passing them off as your own. I've never seen a fan fiction writer claim to own Fox Mulder, Harry Potter, Miles Vorkisigan. Fan fiction writers are very clear on the fact that those things do not belong to them and that they are borrowing them.
Plagiarism is something something more than just stealing ideas... because some ideas can't be copyrighted. There are thoughts and ideas that are so engrained in our culture that those phrases have become common knowledge. "Will you marry me?" "Want a coke with that?" Material like isn't copyrightable unless it's part of a bigger whole.
I keep seeing dictionary definitions being used for plagiarism being used to defend this and that's great and all but it isn't very helpful since that has very little bearing legally or ethically. Schools and law define it a certain way and those are the definitions that will impact your life.
Northwestern's "Principles Regarding Academic Integrity" defines plagiarism as "submitting material that in part or whole is not entirely one's own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source."Plagiarism (http://www.nwu.edu/uacc/plagiar.html)
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (a created production) without crediting the source vi: to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing sourWhat is Plagiarism by SE Van Bramer (http://science.widener.edu/svb/essay/plagiar.html)
That same article says: If you use something word for word it MUST be acknowledged. Things start to get a bit gray when you paraphrase. There is one simple solution to this dilemma. DO NOT PARAPHRASE! Only use someone else's writing when it serves a purpose. Only use someone else's writing when you want to quote precisely what they wrote. If this is not your goal, USE YOUR OWN WORDS.
The problem with fan fiction that incorporates large masses of changes from some one else's creative work is that in order to be legal you need to cite it. It gets passed off as your own unless you point it out in some form. Disclaimers at the top saying you quoted from such and such are not going to cut it unless you specifically point out which parts are being used because if it isn't being pointed out, than you're using it on your own with out crediting it; you're presenting the story as original.
My brain is dead but fan fiction normally has disclaimers dispelling ownership and saying that people do not own the characters, yackety yack do. That works pretty well since the characters are all over the stories as are the settings. It doesn't pretend to claim that characters are there own.
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Fan fiction isn't plagiarism
Plagiarism is something something more than just stealing ideas... because some ideas can't be copyrighted. There are thoughts and ideas that are so engrained in our culture that those phrases have become common knowledge. "Will you marry me?" "Want a coke with that?" Material like isn't copyrightable unless it's part of a bigger whole.
I keep seeing dictionary definitions being used for plagiarism being used to defend this and that's great and all but it isn't very helpful since that has very little bearing legally or ethically. Schools and law define it a certain way and those are the definitions that will impact your life.
Northwestern's "Principles Regarding Academic Integrity" defines plagiarism as "submitting material that in part or whole is not
entirely one's own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source." Plagiarism (http://www.nwu.edu/uacc/plagiar.html)
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (a created production) without crediting the source vi: to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing sour What is Plagiarism by SE Van Bramer (http://science.widener.edu/svb/essay/plagiar.html)
That same article says: If you use something word for word it MUST be acknowledged. Things start to get a bit gray when you paraphrase. There is one simple solution to this dilemma. DO NOT PARAPHRASE! Only use someone else's writing when it serves a purpose. Only use someone else's writing when you want to quote precisely what they wrote. If this is not your goal, USE YOUR OWN WORDS.
The problem with fan fiction that incorporates large masses of changes from some one else's creative work is that in order to be legal you need to cite it. It gets passed off as your own unless you point it out in some form. Disclaimers at the top saying you quoted from such and such are not going to cut it unless you specifically point out which parts are being used because if it isn't being pointed out, than you're using it on your own with out crediting it; you're presenting the story as original.
My brain is dead but fan fiction normally has disclaimers dispelling ownership and saying that people do not own the characters, yackety yack do. That works pretty well since the characters are all over the stories as are the settings. It doesn't pretend to claim that characters are there own.