What Is the Legal Penalty for Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is the act of stealing and using another person's words, data or ideas without crediting the original source. Society's rising reliance on the Internet and electronic text has made plagiarism a common occurrence. Consequences of plagiarism differ by intent and severity.

Legal Consequences

Plagiarism is legally punishable when it falls under copyright infringement laws. Violators commonly face fines if the original writer has lost profit due to the intellectual theft. In severe cases, imprisonment also is a possibility.

Considerations

Consequences also exist outside of court-issued punishments.

Plagiarism in an academic environment may result in any form of punishment ranging from a failing grade on the offending assignment to expulsion from the university.

In journalism, plagiarism is against the code of ethics and can result in job suspension or termination.

Warning

Accidental plagiarism is another common problem. These mistakes can be avoided by practicing good citation skills. Maintaining creative wording and sentence structure also is a good way of avoiding accidental word-for-word copying.

References

• Plagiarism.org: Plagiarism FAQs