Blog - Let's talk about Copying and Copyrighting...
Why, because I’m getting a bit fed up of seeing my words on other folks posts…
And I know I’m not the only person that this is happening to, I’ve seen it over and over again with colleagues getting whole chunks of their website copy lifted and used, as well as videos of trainers dogs being passed off as someone else’s as part of promoting their dog training business… and according to the Crown Prosecution Service (2019), as a crime it ‘is growing hugely’.
One of the best definitions that I’ve seen for plagiarism is the Pears and Shields (2019, p.246) Cite Them Right…
“Plagiarism: Taking and using another person’s thoughts, writings or inventions as your own without acknowledging or citing the source of the ideas and expressions. In the case of copyrighted material, plagiarism is illegal.”
The latest one I’ve been told about was via Instagram – one of the Accredited Pet Gundog Instructors advertised The Novice Pet Gundog classes, using my words with permission, and had the post copied virtually word for word and added to another trainer’s website, not only copying the advert but the syllabus content too (although I do have to note that the exercises may be trained differently… after all, the trainer is not an Accredited Pet Gundog Instructor).
One that I came across in the not too distant past was posted in May 2022, and made me add this to my list of blogs to write, involved someone taking a copyrighted image (which I paid to have designed), changing it so it looked ‘cute and appealing’ and saying “[Graphic taken/adopted from Lez Graham, The Pet Gundog]” when permission was neither granted or requested… and even though the copyright notice is there on The Training Triangle image, it was taken and used 13 days after my post appeared on Instagram and Facebook.
The image below is my original work - I won’t show the other person’s details as I don’t want to advertise their business, but if you see Train, Chain, Maintain in a graphic that doesn’t look like The Training Triangle below then you’ll know where it came from originally!
Plagiarism is a real issue and not just in academia… as business owners and entrepreneurs, we need to respect the thought leaders, the talented and the ground breakers.
If you like someone’s work tell them, share it, but do not copy it – please believe me when I say imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery, rather it is insulting, depressing, frustrating and only highlights a lack of imagination and thought leadership and, if permission to use is not granted, not cited correctly or ownership correctly attributed, is classed as intellectual property theft.
Note:-“Copyright protection is different to other forms of intellectual property. It is an automatic right and does not need to be registered… Once a work is created the copyright is automatic” (British Library, 2023)
And:-“Copyright is an unregistered, automatic right (unlike patents, registered designs or trade marks). So, in terms of protection there is no official action to take (no official registration or application to make, no forms to fill in or fees to pay). Copyright comes into effect as soon as something that can be protected is created and "fixed" in some way, e.g. on paper, on film, via sound recording, as an electronic record on the internet.” (The Crown Prosecution Service, 2019)
References:-
British Library (2023) What is copyright? Available at: https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/articles/what-is-copyright. (accessed: 29 September 2023).
Lez Graham (2022), ‘The Training Triangle’ [Instagram] May 2022. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/lezgraham/ (accessed: 29 September 2023)
Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019) Cite Them Right. The Essential Referencing Guide Eleventh revised and expanded edition. London, England: Macmillan Education Limited.
The Crown Prosecution Service (2019) Intellectual Property Crime. Available at: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/intellectual-property-crime. (accessed: 29 September 2023)
first published 30 September 2023
buy the book - https://thepetgundog.co.uk/Home/Books
join the club - https://lezgrahamonlinetraining.com/the-pet-gundog-club
Blog - Let's talk about Copying and Copyrighting...
Why, because I’m getting a bit fed up of seeing my words on other folks posts…
And I know I’m not the only person that this is happening to, I’ve seen it over and over again with colleagues getting whole chunks of their website copy lifted and used, as well as videos of trainers dogs being passed off as someone else’s as part of promoting their dog training business… and according to the Crown Prosecution Service (2019), as a crime it ‘is growing hugely’.
One of the best definitions that I’ve seen for plagiarism is the Pears and Shields (2019, p.246) Cite Them Right…
“Plagiarism: Taking and using another person’s thoughts, writings or inventions as your own without acknowledging or citing the source of the ideas and expressions. In the case of copyrighted material, plagiarism is illegal.”
The latest one I’ve been told about was via Instagram – one of the Accredited Pet Gundog Instructors advertised The Novice Pet Gundog classes, using my words with permission, and had the post copied virtually word for word and added to another trainer’s website, not only copying the advert but the syllabus content too (although I do have to note that the exercises may be trained differently… after all, the trainer is not an Accredited Pet Gundog Instructor).
One that I came across in the not too distant past was posted in May 2022, and made me add this to my list of blogs to write, involved someone taking a copyrighted image (which I paid to have designed), changing it so it looked ‘cute and appealing’ and saying “[Graphic taken/adopted from Lez Graham, The Pet Gundog]” when permission was neither granted or requested… and even though the copyright notice is there on The Training Triangle image, it was taken and used 13 days after my post appeared on Instagram and Facebook.
The image below is my original work - I won’t show the other person’s details as I don’t want to advertise their business, but if you see Train, Chain, Maintain in a graphic that doesn’t look like The Training Triangle below then you’ll know where it came from originally!
Plagiarism is a real issue and not just in academia… as business owners and entrepreneurs, we need to respect the thought leaders, the talented and the ground breakers.
If you like someone’s work tell them, share it, but do not copy it – please believe me when I say imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery, rather it is insulting, depressing, frustrating and only highlights a lack of imagination and thought leadership and, if permission to use is not granted, not cited correctly or ownership correctly attributed, is classed as intellectual property theft.
Note:-
“Copyright protection is different to other forms of intellectual property. It is an automatic right and does not need to be registered… Once a work is created the copyright is automatic” (British Library, 2023)
And:-
“Copyright is an unregistered, automatic right (unlike patents, registered designs or trade marks). So, in terms of protection there is no official action to take (no official registration or application to make, no forms to fill in or fees to pay). Copyright comes into effect as soon as something that can be protected is created and "fixed" in some way, e.g. on paper, on film, via sound recording, as an electronic record on the internet.” (The Crown Prosecution Service, 2019)
References:-
British Library (2023) What is copyright? Available at: https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre/articles/what-is-copyright. (accessed: 29 September 2023).
Lez Graham (2022), ‘The Training Triangle’ [Instagram] May 2022. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/lezgraham/ (accessed: 29 September 2023)
Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019) Cite Them Right. The Essential Referencing Guide Eleventh revised and expanded edition. London, England: Macmillan Education Limited.
The Crown Prosecution Service (2019) Intellectual Property Crime. Available at: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/intellectual-property-crime. (accessed: 29 September 2023)
first published 30 September 2023
buy the book - https://thepetgundog.co.uk/Home/Books
join the club - https://lezgrahamonlinetraining.com/the-pet-gundog-club