Is Plagiarism Illegal? What the Law Says

Plagiarism vs. Copyright Infringement: Understanding the Distinction

The confusion between plagiarism and its legality has to do with a common misunderstanding. Plagiarism is different from copyright infringement. These are two separate ideas that have similarities. Let's dig a little deeper:

Plagiarism is plagiarism if you don't give a credit. Plagiarism is the unethical act of presenting someone else’s ideas or words as your own. You are guilty of plagiarism if you fail to punctuate your own ideas correctly or you fail to credit the source. This kind of wrongdoing is more commonly addressed by the law in the context of copyright infringement.

Copyright infringement is plagiarism if you don't have a permission. Copyright infringement is the legal wrongdoing of using copies or reproductions of copyrighted material without permission from the rights holder. Copyright protection is automatic to original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium, regardless of whether it has a © symbol on it.

The difference between the two is that in plagiarism you fail to attribute the source, whereas in copyright infringement you fail to obtain permission from the rights holder.

In other words, you can do plagiarism without infringing copyright. You can plagiarize Shakespeare's works by copying from edition of the play and passing it off as your own. Likewise, you can do copyright infringement without plagiarism. If you access a copyrighted text, give it credit, but, fail to get the rights holder's permission to use it, both plagiarism and copyright infringement are present.

When Plagiarism Becomes a Legal Matter

While plagiarism itself is typically not criminal, certain circumstances transform it into prosecutable offenses.

Copyright Infringement Through Plagiarism

If the plagiarized content is also copyrighted, then the plagiarism act is also that of copyright infringement. According to federal law, if copyright infringement is done willfully and for profit, the plagiarist can be fined up to $250,000 and receive up to 10 years in prison if they earn over $2,500 from copyrighted materials.

Breach of Contract

Plagiarism can constitute breach of contract when someone agrees to provide original work but delivers plagiarized content instead. Publishers, employers, and grant organizations often require contractual guarantees of originality. Violating these agreements can result in lawsuits, financial penalties, and mandatory return of payments or advances.

A notable example involved author Kaavya Viswanathan, who avoided a breach of contract lawsuit only by returning her publisher's advance after plagiarism was discovered in her book.

Fraud Charges

In rare cases, plagiarism can be prosecuted as fraud. This typically occurs when someone uses plagiarized work to obtain grants, funding, or positions through deceptive means. Researcher Craig Grimes faced criminal fraud investigation for submitting duplicate grant proposals, though charges were eventually dropped. He received a two-year ban from receiving research funding.

Academic Consequences: The Real Impact

For students and academics, plagiarism carries severe institutional consequences even without legal ramifications.

Universities and colleges maintain strict academic integrity policies. Students caught plagiarizing may face:

● Automatic failure on the assignment

● Failure of the entire course

● Academic probation or suspension

● Mandatory disciplinary hearings

● Permanent notation on academic records

● Expulsion from the institution

For graduate students and faculty, the stakes increase dramatically. Plagiarism can result in degree revocation, termination of employment, loss of research funding, and permanent damage to professional reputation. The academic community takes plagiarism particularly seriously because scholarship relies on properly attributing ideas to advance knowledge collectively.

Professional Consequences Beyond Academia

Outside educational settings, plagiarism can destroy careers and professional credibility.

In journalism, plagiarism has ended numerous careers. Multiple news organizations have fired employees for repeated plagiarism offenses. The consequences extend beyond immediate termination—professional reputations become permanently tarnished, making future employment difficult.

For researchers and authors, plagiarism allegations can result in:

● Retraction of published work

● Loss of professional credentials

● Exclusion from professional organizations

● Civil lawsuits from original authors

● Inability to publish future work

Corporate environments also enforce strict originality standards. Employees who plagiarize reports, presentations, or client deliverables face termination and potential legal action if their plagiarism causes financial harm or violates client contracts.

Protecting Yourself: Prevention Strategies

Staying on the right side of the law is not a problem if you know how to properly cite materials.

Proper Citation Techniques

Always give credit to your sources when you use other people's data, ideas, or words verbatim. Citation styles vary and are discipline-specific. The most common styles are APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Get familiar with the style requirements in your discipline and use them consistently throughout your text.

Quoting requires quotation marks and reciprocal citations containing page numbers. When paraphrasing, you must put the ideas in your own words, but still must provide reciprocal citations. Simply reordering words or replacing successive phrases with synonyms is still plagiarism.

Understanding Common Knowledge

Not all research must be cited. General knowledge is something that can be easily verified by many sources and is commonly known and undisputed. For instance, you do not need to cite the fact that there are 50 U.S. states, or that the temperature of water boils at 100 °C.

However, all research findings, statistics, expert statements, and unique interpretations always need a citation – even if paraphrased.

Using Detection Tools

Plagiarism detection tools check for unintentional duplication or similarity. They analyze the text against vast databases of published text. and highlight potential issues. Many universities offer these services as part of their writing support.

The Fair Use Defense

Copyright law's fair use rules state that some uses of copyrighted works are allowed without permission for purposes such as criticism, commentary, education, scholarship, or research. But fair use is limited, and it does not provide a cover-up for plagiarism.

[Rewritten below: Even if you have lawful grounds to use a copyrighted work, you still need to give the original author credit, and only a reasonable amount of the original material may be used in the context of your justified purpose. Merely quoting extensively, even with citations, does not prevent infringement if the use goes beyond what is allowed under fair use].

Four factors are considered by courts to determine if a use is fair: the purpose and character of the use, nature of the copyrighted work, portion used, and effect on value.

Conclusion

Plagiarism is worse than a breach of trust. It may not be illegal, but it will often have legal consequences when it involves a breach of contract, a violation of intellectual property law, or fraud. There is a great deal already caught between academia and the courts. It's enough to push us to be more careful about giving credit to other people's ideas.

The truth is simple. If you want to avoid being upset, put your finger where it belongs, and give credit where credit is due. Cite your sources and stay on the right side of ethics and the law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can you go to jail for plagiarism?

A: Generally, no. Plagiarism typically results in academic or professional penalties. However, imprisonment is possible if it involves willful copyright infringement for commercial gain, fraud, or falsifying documents.

Q: Is plagiarism illegal if you accidentally copy something?

A: Accidental plagiarism isn't typically illegal but violates academic standards. Courts may recognize a "good faith defense" for innocent infringement. However, you remain responsible for proper citation practices.

Q: What's the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing?

A: Paraphrasing means rewriting ideas in your own words while citing the source. Plagiarism occurs when copying without attribution or when paraphrasing too closely mirrors the original language.

Q: Can you plagiarize yourself?

A: Yes, self-plagiarism exists. Submitting previously submitted work without disclosure or reusing your own published work without citation violates academic integrity policies and can constitute fraud in professional contexts.

Q: Does citing a source always protect you from plagiarism accusations?

A: Mostly, yes. Proper citation prevents plagiarism in most cases. However, citation alone doesn't prevent copyright infringement if you use extensive copyrighted material beyond fair use limits.