Published May 18, 2017
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:
- to steal and pass off [the ideas or words of another] as one's own
- to use [another's production] without crediting the source
- to commit literary theft
- to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.
But can words and ideas really be stolen?
According to U.S. law, the answer is yes. The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions. Almost all forms of expression fall under copyright protection as long as they are recorded in some way [such as a book or a computer file].
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
- turning in someone else's work as your own
- copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
- failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
- giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
- changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
- copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not [see our section on "fair use" rules]
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source is usually enough to prevent plagiarism. See our section on citation for more information on how to cite sources properly.
What about images, videos, and music?
Using an image, video or piece of music in a work you have produced without receiving proper permission or providing appropriate citation is plagiarism. The following activities are very common in today’s society. Despite their popularity, they still count as plagiarism.
- Copying media [especially images] from other websites to paste them into your own papers or websites.
- Making a video using footage from others’ videos or using copyrighted music as part of the soundtrack.
- Performing another person’s copyrighted music [i.e., playing a cover].
- Composing a piece of music that borrows heavily from another composition.
Certainly, these media pose situations in which it can be challenging to determine whether or not the copyrights of a work are being violated. For example:
- A photograph or scan of a copyrighted image [for example: using a photograph of a book cover to represent that book on one’s website]
- Recording audio or video in which copyrighted music or video is playing in the background.
- Re-creating a visual work in the same medium. [for example: shooting a photograph that uses the same composition and subject matter as someone else’s photograph]
- Re-creating a visual work in a different medium [for example: making a painting that closely resembles another person’s photograph].
- Re-mixing or altering copyrighted images, video or audio, even if done so in an original way.
The legality of these situations, and others, would be dependent upon the intent and context within which they are produced. The two safest approaches to take in regards to these situations is: 1] Avoid them altogether or 2] Confirm the works’ usage permissions and cite them properly.
When an artist uses a copyrighted work and creates something new, it can fall under a fair use exception in the law.
Appropriation of a copyright is a type of plagiarism that applies to a work of art. Anytime you create a work of art—writing, music, computer coding, or other creative output—you immediately own the copyright for that work.
You are not required to file for a copyright with the United States Copyright Office to establish ownership [it automatically exists]. However, filing for a copyright gives you the right to enforce the copyright in court.
A copyright is valid for your lifetime plus 70 years [other rules apply to older art and works created in other countries]. During that time, no one else is allowed to use the work of art without permission unless the use falls within several categories that are considered valid exceptions. When art is appropriated, it has been used in a new work without the artist's permission. This may or may not violate the original artist's copyright.
What Is Appropriation Art?
In the genre of art known as appropriation art, artists intentionally take another artist's work and change, build on, or modify it in their own work. The famous Campbell's soup art by Andy Warhol is an example of appropriation art. Campbell's owns the image on the can labels. Warhol took that image and incorporated it into his own work, creating something new and unique.
Artists freely admit being influenced by other artists—but you should be aware of the distinction between copyright violation and creative appropriation.
Fair Use Exception
One exception to copyright is fair use. Several types of fair use allow an artist to use another's copyrighted work. One common example is parody. Weird Al Yankovic has based his career on taking well-known songs and creating parodies, his own funny versions of the songs. This is one example of fair use. Other examples include news reporting, research, and criticism in which part of the original work is repeated. Appropriation art can also sometimes be considered fair use.
Courts have laid out four things to consider when determining whether a use falls under the fair use exception:
- Commercial use. Courts consider whether the appropriation of the artwork creates a commercial benefit for the new artist. It's one thing to take a piece of art and alter it and hang it in your own home and another thing to appropriate it and then sell it for millions of dollars.
- Nature of the work. Courts consider the nature of the new work. In the case of appropriation art, the new work is generally another piece of art.
- Amount of use. The amount of the original art that is used in the appropriation piece is also considered. If an artist took an existing photograph, cut out a section, and used it in their own new work, the amount of use is small. However, if a 20-square-foot photograph is used as the basis for a piece of art in which it is painted over, most or all of the work is used.
- Effect on the market. This factor looks at how the new use of the work affects the original work's market value. If the new work is truly transformative, it should have little or no impact on the original work's value. For example, if an artist makes T-shirts with her own designs, then a second artist takes those T-shirts and adds sequins in a few places, the sale of the sequined shirts will likely impact the sale of the original shirts because it is not transformative. This is the most important factor to consider when evaluating appropriation art.
Steps for Appropriation Artists
If you are an artist who wishes to appropriate someone else's art into your own work, the first thing to do is reach out to the artist and ask permission. The artist may grant you permission or may be willing to license the work to you for a small fee. This can help you avoid any legal challenges.
If you are not given permission, or do not feel comfortable asking for permission, the best bet is to make sure that your use of the original work is truly transformative. For example, if you took a copy of a Jackson Pollack painting and placed it on the floor and created an interactive display of laser lights on the ceiling as an art installation, you aren't doing anything at all to actually transform the painting.
However, if you took the same painting and sliced it into one-inch pieces and used a papier-mâché technique to create a polar bear out of them, that would completely transform the work. The more transformative the new work, the more likely it is going to be considered fair use if there is a legal challenge.
Artists have always been influenced by others' art. Making sure your work truly creates something new out of the old work is the key to avoiding a copyright infringement issue.