Been plagiarized, what do I do?

The "community leader" (whoever she is) is wrong. Copyright exists in a piece of work from the moment you create it. You don't have to register your copyright in order for your work to be protected by it.

However, I can't give you advice on how to proceed with this because I'm not a lawyer, and this is not an appropriate forum for such advice.

Sometimes just threatening them with a lawsuit will get the job done. And if it doesn't, I think you can add court costs to what they would have to pay if they lose (I forget the term).

Sorry this is happening. You got a great friend there <dripping sarcasm>.

I'm so sorry this has happened to you. I've been plagiarized too, so I know how surreal it is to see your own words jumping out at you with someone else's name at the top. In my case, the plagiarized document was produced in the course of my duties as a US federal employee, so it was in the public domain. There was nothing I could do but hope it got the plagiarizer what she wanted and move on.

I can't give you any advice because I'm not a lawyer. Seek out a reputable intellectual property attorney and go from there.

Yāoguài;8667106 said:

A community leader says this isn't plagiarism. She says my work isn't copyrighted, because I didn't register a copyright. Is that true? I'm under the impression that copyright applies as soon as you write something.

Click to expand...

Plagiarism isn't necessarily anything to do with copyright. A person can plagiarise something that's in the public domain if they claim it as their own work. So plagiarism can include copyright violation - and in your case it sounds as if it does - but it doesn't have to. Think of it as Venn diagram. There's plagiarism and copyright violation and there's a crossover in the middle when someone is doing both, but they are not the same thing.

So what she says about copyright is a) wrong and b) irrelevant.

Do you have emails which include the work you showed to him? Earlier drafts? Anything time stamped is good to show that you're the originator of the work. If you've got those things you can call this person out. On a blog say if the community you belong to has turned hostile. Maybe take a look at the Stop Plagiarism community on Live Journal, to see how to go about presenting a case against someone.

It's sad. It may not get you anywhere. You may have to chalk it up to experience, learn from it and move on. Many plagiarists seem to face few consequences in the end. Going to court is often well out of the reach of the aggrieved party.

My advice going forward is to use an online cloud storage service to save all previous drafts of anything you write, keep all your notes and outlines, and all your emails that you exchange with someone you're sending work to. And choose carefully who you do share the work with. You might still be let down one day, but if you have all that time stamped evidence to show you're the author you are at least in a good position to call someone out on their thievery.

Yeah, I see how it's not worth the expense of an attorney if no significant dollar amount is involved.

So... I'd raise holy hell. If it's worth it to you, post the parts of yours that he's copied, and highlight it in his writing. Post that whoever was in charge said "it's okay if it's not copyrighted" next to the relevant section from an authoritative source that that is not true. Include info. of what you were excluded from as a result of speaking up. Request that those who read it spread the news if they disagree with plagiarism.

Put your post with all this in it together concisely, then bombard the internet. Post, post, post it on any and every site that has a bit of relevance, and don't be shy about their personal sites, either. Don't let the sheep who are trying to shut you up deter you, imo they will shift to your side with the tide.

I bet then it quickly disappears. Please keep us posted and best wishes!

Oh right, and please keep in mind that I'm just some fruitbat on the internet and really don't know what I'm doing, lol.

The community leader is absolutely wrong. Direct them to this page on the U.S. Copyright website (because at least you can teach someone about writing in the process of this.)

Also take a few minutes to read through the other FAQs on the linked page for more information. You could try filing suit. The trick is that the other person hasn't profited from the theft. That's really what a claim of plagiarism is geared toward. Unjust Enrichment. However, if you'd planned to charge a fee for your course, you might have a claim for diminution of value. Having a proprietary something made less valuable by wide distribution by theft has a long standing of succeeding in the court. But it depends on how much you want to throw after this.

OTOH, sometimes a letter from an attorney can get the result just by the specter of the potential PITA to the other person. I definitely recommend talking with an attorney skilled in intellectual property. I even have a name for you, simply because you're in Denver (where I used to live, and where I lived when I hired him.) Call David Schachter at Sherman & Howard. He ain't cheap, but he'll work with you, and any letter from him will definitely scare the pants off the other guy. Note this part of his bio specifically: "Successfully halted illegal Internet piracy of a copyrighted instructional tool sold over the Web." Feel free to tell him I recommended you.

First and foremost, get REAL legal advice from an attorney who does this for a living.

I've never had to do this, but if the work is posted online, and you have proof of your claim, you can send the online provider a CDMA takedown notice and force it offline that way.

I think. You should look into that.

What you do depends on what you want to achieve.

You don't want to take the guy to court because it will be expensive and it'll be hard to show any material damages even if they find in your favour. You do want your work to be publicly acknowledged as your own.

Here's what I'd do. I'd write one statement explaining exactly what happened and post it publicly on your own website. Don't go into lengthy detail but do providing supporting evidence where you can. Then I'd get on with publishing your own work. Make your name bigger than his. Make your work more important. Give the community a reason to recognise that you can't be ignored or excluded. And whenever anyone asks about the other guy, point them to your statement. Don't get involved in endless debates about it.

It's a horrible thing to have happened, but sadly it's an unjust world. I think if you focus only on the plagiarism, you'll lose out twice because your focus and energy will be taken away from the work you ought to be doing now.

They put their reputation on the line, so if you can find a civil way to let people know what they did--that would seem appropriate.

I can't give you better advice than you're received above, but I'll wish you good luck. I'm so sorry this happened to you, Yāoguài.

This is the kind of thing that makes me leery to post anything online or work with others. If they actually did what you claim, took your work, you have every right to expose them publicly outside of their insular community. If he stole your work, he will eventually out as a no-talent fraud and he'll get his just desserts. I would make a blog specifically dedicated at outing him and send him links of your posts, and just make a serious nuisance of yourself. You're within your rights. When I was a kid, I had a friend who would take art I made, erase my name, and put his on it. I learned early to keep an eye on my "friends." LOL! Sounds like you're the better writer, though, OP. Just do what you do best and stay away from that person.

I have nothing to add other than to say I'm sorry this happened to you.

I would have to say

Yāoguài;8667106 said:

Other people condemn me for being tedious.

Click to expand...

They are full of the substance they shovel out of the barn. Sounds a lot like 'victim shaming' to me also. Which also really irks me. I would reveal as much as I could of the stolen work - as often and in as many places as I could with my name on it in big bold letters, with comments about where, when and who stole your work. Just because I am old and ornery like that. Twitter it , FB it, Post it, plaster it all over the net and get everyone you can to like it recommend etc.. Do not let them intimidate you, I will wager you are not the first person they have done this to, but you can turn the tables and shame them, do not let them silence you. Abusers are always empowered by the silence of their victims. - Also it just might cause them to pause and wonder just what the repercussions might be the next time they try to take advantage of someones work.

Sorry babe, but I really think you are going to need to talk to a lawyer about this one. Best case scenario all it will take is a letter from your lawyer to him to stop it.

Make sure you have any email exchanges, trasncripts of 'his' work and yours and all the dates and events to hand before you talk to the lawyer.

You need better people in your life and community if no one is supporting you in this situation. This is absolutely disgusting and I'm so sorry it happened to you.