The main difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement is that plagiarism is an ethical issue, whereas copyright infringement is a legal issue.
Plagiarism refers to the passing off someone else’s work or ideas as one’s own, whereas copyright infringement refers to the use of copyright-protected material without the permission of the copyright holder. Both plagiarism and copyright infringement involve using someone else’s work without permission.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Plagiarism
– Definition, Features, Forms
2. What is Copyright Infringement
– Definition, Features
3. Difference Between Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Copyright Infringement, Plagiarism 
What is Plagiarism
Plagiarism refers to the act of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own. We mainly use this term in the academic field. Plagiarism involves all published texts in both printed and electronic form. This also involves unpublished materials like lecture notes and other students’ essays. Furthermore, plagiarism can occur in various forms:
- Submitting someone else’s work as your own
- Failing to use a quotation in quotation marks
- Citing inaccurate information about the source of a quotation
- Copying ideas or words from someone without giving full credit
- Changing words but duplicating the sentence structure of a source without citing the source
In academia, plagiarism is a serious matter and will have penalties ranging from deduction of marks to expulsion from the college. The penalty will typically depend on the seriousness of the issue. However, the best way to avoid plagiarism is by citing the sources correctly.
What is Copyright Infringement
Copyright is the right to copy or reproduce – the only ones with the exclusive right to reproduce the work are the creators of the product and anyone they give authorization to. Examples of some unique work that you have to protect with copyright include music, art, novels, movies, website content, computer software, etc. Individuals and companies generally register for copyright protection to ensure only they can profit from their efforts. But they can grant permission for others to use their work through licensing arrangements or selling the copyrighted material to another party.
Copyright infringement refers to the use of copyright-protected material without the permission of the copyright holder. This is considered theft or illegal duplication. In fact, this is an act punishable by law. Moreover, disputes regarding copyright infringement can be resolved through direct negotiation, sending a notice to take it down, or litigation in civil court. As a matter of fact, advancements in digital technology and the widespread use of the internet have led to many cases of copyright infringement. For example, many copyrighted movies are available for download on the internet through torrents and other sites.
Difference Between Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
Definition
Plagiarism refers to the act of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own while copyright infringement refers to the use of copyright-protected material without the permission of the copyright holder.
Nature
Whereas plagiarism is an ethical issue, copyright infringement is a legal issue.
Copyright
Plagiarism involves copying any work, including work that has no copyright, but copyright infringement only involves work that is protected under copyright.
Context
Moreover, plagiarism usually involves written work in both printed and electronic form, whereas copyright infringement can involve music, art, novels, movies, website content, computer software, etc.
Crime
In addition, copyright infringement is a civil crime. While plagiarism is not a crime under law, it can have penalties like expulsion from the college.
Conclusion
Plagiarism refers to the passing off someone else’s work or ideas as one’s own, whereas copyright infringement refers to the use of copyright-protected material without the permission of the copyright holder. The main difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement is that plagiarism is an ethical issue, whereas copyright infringement is a legal issue.
Reference:
1. Kenton, Will. “Copyright Infringement.” Investopedia, 19 May 2021.
2. “What Is Plagiarism?” Plagiarismorg RSS.
3. “Plagiarism.” University of Oxford.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Example-of-Article-Plagiarism-Diagram” By Carrot Lord – Paint.NET (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Copyright Infringement” By Nick Youngson (CC BY-SA 3.0) via The Blue Diamond Gallery
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