Reference or Plagiarism?

May 5, 2009

 

Mary Rosenblum:  Welcome to our Lunchbox Forum. I was asked to talk about research and plagiarism by one of our regulars, and it's a distinction that does leave people confused.
So where does research end and plagiarism begin? Well, let's define plagiarism first.
That is when you use someone else's words without permission. You copy their work.  You have infringed on their copyright, in other words.  Now not only words are copyrighted. So are images -- all those jpegs you copy from Google Images? You can only legally use those personally, under fair use laws. You can't include them in your story or article that's going to be sold to a publisher. Same thing with fictional characters.  You cannot use Gollum or Sherlock Holmes in your story without permission from the author's estate, or the author when the author is still living.
But, if you read a really good book about the Grand Canyon you can certainly use the material in that book to create a vivid setting for your story, or as fact material for your nonfiction article.
What you cannot do there is to copy and paste the author's exact words into your manuscript.  But you can convey the same information in your own words. Ideas are not copyrightable, so you cannot plagiarize ideas.  However, if an author has used a specific unique idea, say a wizard's school, and you use the same idea, of course people, agents, editors, and readers, will assume you're copying the first author's idea.
It's not illegal, but you're likely to have trouble selling that 'clone'. It's too similar.  But of course, how many orcs are running around in fantasy stories? Quite a few. The distinction between plagiarism and research is simply this: are you copying specific words or using information?  Are you using a specific character or are you creating a similar TYPE of character.
If you read a specific description of, say, an Antarctic sunset and it really makes you 'see' that sunset, you can use very similar language in your own work to describe that sunset.
Can we use verses from the Bible as they are writtien without permission?
Mary Rosenblum:  Yes, you certainly can.  Generally, the author cites the chapter and verse of the quotation in the text of the piece, rather than as a footnote. 

How about quotes from news, such as something said by the President?
Mary Rosenblum:  Julia, you can quote the president.  It's not illegal to quote people. It's not illegal to use real people in your fiction or your nonfiction. You can quote your neighbor.  If you say something damaging about someone, that person can sue you for libel.
What  if someone else is reporting it.

Mary Rosenblum:  No, it's not plagiarism to report the same quote, Julia. You are including the quote by the president, not copying the other writer's words. Those are not her words, they are the president's words. Six writers can quote the same sentence uttered by the president. They are not copying each other.
In non-fiction, if we are using an idea in our own words, do we need to note the material reference or just list the reference in our bibliography?
Mary Rosenblum:  Lady, if you are restating information in your own words, you need to include the references as a bibliography for the editor.  It can be helpful to reference it in the text, too. According to the June Congressional Record, three quarters of all voters avoided the Chicago elections.  That's what I mean by referencing it in the text. The readers can go look up the June Congressional Record if they want to.
I've heard people talk of having "their entire blog lifted" and posted to another blogger's site. How can writer's protect themselves from this? And, how can they discover when this happens?
Mary Rosenblum:  Gail, there is a LOT of illegal use of internet material. Generally, you can go to the blog site and publically ask the 'lifter' to remove the text, replacing it with a link if he/she wants readers to go read it.  If you get no reaction and you really want that text removed from the blog, you can go to the hosting site and formally complain about illegal use of your material. They will take action if they feel that copyright law is being broken.  I am surprised that someone would copy and paste blog entries when it's so much easier to link to the page.
When do you need to use footnotes? I assumed footnotes may be necessary when you are basically attributing a statement to a particular source, at least in an article or book that heavily cites those other sources?
Mary Rosenblum:  Dale, footnotes are stylistically not used much in popular magazine pieces. They tend to be used more in scholarly or scientific journals. Generally, the editor wants a list of your sources, and you can always include a sidebar of source material if you think your readers want more information.
I was thinking of a magazine such as The Numismatist or Coins--so that makes sense.
Mary Rosenblum:  I'd include a sidebar of sources for those mags, Dale.

Where would a person go to find out if a quote or text is okay to publish without the author's permission? I know it's so many years before something become public domain.
Mary Rosenblum:  Julia, it can be hard to find the copyright holder, especially if a book is out of print.  You can contact the publisher of the book you want to quote from and explain the situation. They will put you in touch with the author, if they have the author's current address, or send you to the author's agent, if an agent handled the deal.
Thanks.
Mary Rosenblum:  To be honest, if you can't find any trace of the author, the book was published fifteen years ago, and never reprinted, I'd be tempted to go ahead and use the quote. It's not legal, really.  But if you have made a serious effort to find the author, you do have a legal leg to stand on
I've read somewhere that song titles cannot be used, nor even one line of a song without permission, is this true?
Mary Rosenblum:  It is, DLB, and I wouldn't touch a song lyric or title with a ten foot pole. The record labels are NASTY about copyright and you can get a cease and desist order from their on-staff attorney. The publisher will not be happy.
I thought even the family could block permission for say, 50 years.
Mary Rosenblum:  They can, Julia. And that is why you have to make an attempt to get permission before you use a quote from any other author.

Not even if you put the lyrics into quotation marks?

Mary Rosenblum:  Not even then, Milly. You have to get permission. JRR Tolkien's estate keeps TIGHT control over that copyright, believe me!
I want to make my novel into a musical play.  Is there something I have to know about creating my own lyrics?
Mary Rosenblum:  Pook if you write your own lyrics they are yours. You can decide where they get published. Realize that just giving the other author credit is not legally enough. You have to have permission to use that work. And to be honest, most authors are more than happy to give it to you. Why not?  It's PR for them. The record labels are less forthcoming.
What if I refer to a movie scene in my writing, and I quote something. Do I need permission?
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, Milly, this is a fuzzy area and you'd probably have to ask a copyright attorney. But say, you had your character raise a glass to his lady love and say 'Here's looking at you, kid,' you're not likely to get prosecuted for plagiarism, even though you're using the specific words from that screen play. Your character is quoting Bogart who was reciting lines from a script. Now the lines get even fuzzier in satire. 'Bored of the Rings' used Tolkien characters heavily, altering the names slightly. They were still recognizably Tolkien characters, but it was a spoof. A very humorous parody.  And the authors had a forward where they made it clear they meant no disrespect to JRR.
I have Al Hibler's Unchained Melody as background music on my website because the words are the basis for my first novel. I was told Al Hibler is dead. Am I in the clear?

Mary Rosenblum:  Gosh, Sally, I have no idea whether your music is 'okay' or not!  Since it's YOUR personal website, you're probably fine.
That does not make sense, because as you said, I am giving them free PR

Mary Rosenblum:  Milly, free PR is only good if the author wants it. It is the author's right to say, I don't want you to use my words'.
Free PR, case in point. The Beachboys sued Sen McCain’s campaign, as did a couple other musicians, for using their music at their rallies
Mary Rosenblum:  And that's where 'PR"becomes an issue, what Gwanny is citing.  If someone doesn't agree with the platform of the person using his/her words or music, it's an issue and the PR isn't 'good'.
 Here's the link to the US copyright government site, the FAQ page: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/
What about quoting a public figure?
Mary Rosenblum:  Gail, public figures are public domain.  You can use them, refer to them, quote them. And by all means paraphrase rather than quote!  That makes life SO much simpler for you!
In his book, Red Robin, Sanders Gaul claimed that half of the population of Maine possessed alien DNA.
That's information, not Mr. Gaul's words. You convey information all you want. If you convey it through the author' s precise words, then you need permission to do so.  I do my best to avoid quoting people, but I'll include information from them.  Ceasar Milan, in his excellent book on dog training, makes a strong case for being the pack leader at all times. I haven't quoted Caesar Milan, I've simply conveyed the summarized information I found in his book. That's research not plagiarism.
I had no idea song titles would be an issue. I've used (a very popular) one in the past...and it's been published. *gulp*
I have used one too: it's been submitted. ouch
Mary Rosenblum:  Well, Gail, LOTS of stuff gets published. It's actually illegal to have your character drink a Coke or use a Kleenex.  These are registered trademarks. Will you get arrested for having Millicent sip delicately at her coke in your scene?
What is likely to happen if you use registered trademarks?
Mary Rosenblum:  If you become a high profile best seller and you have your character get poisoned at his local McDonalds, you will possibly get a nasty letter from the corporation demanding that you remove the book from the shelves. But your editor shouldn't have let you do that.  If your bestseller hinges on the introduction of a nasty virus into Cokes on the production line you will get into SO much trouble with the company.
If the character found true love at McDonalds... then it would probably be okay?
Mary Rosenblum:  Exactly.  When I did my mystery series in the Columbia Gorge, I intentionally used local restaurants. I told the owners what I was doing and they LOVED it. Readers did go to those restaurants because they had read about them in the books.
Sue Grafton's "Kinsey Millhone" frequents McDonald's
Mary Rosenblum:  Generally, the company will have no objection at all but they do often run 'do not use our trademark' ads in the writers mags.  This establishes their legal right to say to that 'poisoned at McDonalds' author 'we told you we won't allow this' and to demand that the books be removed from the shelves.  If one of my characters meets someone at the local Jiffy Lube, I don't bother to ask permission.  Why should they care? They don't.  If your characters meet at the Dairy Queen for a shake, that's fine. Not legal, but why should DQ care? It's good PR.
So if you don't have anything nice to say, then say nothing at all?
Mary Rosenblum:  That's essentially it, Milly. It’s fine to break that particular bit of law as long as the company doesn't mind. And if you don't say anything bad about the company, they won't mind.
Or if you want a character to be poisoned at the local fastfood eatery, make up your own chain?
Mary Rosenblum:  Exactly, Dale. 'The local burger joint'. The local Burger Tyme outlet...that sort of thing.  If you're being nice or neutral, you’re fine.  If you're being unkind or nasty, make it up.  Oh yes...and do not tread on Disney's territory.  They DO have a nice staff of attorneys and they do not book ANY unauthorized references to their copyrighted characters at all. Period. I would be careful there, even if you are conveying information and not quoting text or using characters. They are quite vigilant from what I've heard.

Thank you all for coming, and I’ll see  you all Sunday for our casual chat!