Born from "Bloodborne": Inspiration or Plagiarism?

This is Why You Have an Editor: Politics, Plagiarism, and Copyright

The inescapable world of U.S. politics, especially in an election year, consistently offers much legal debate. Somewhat less often, politicians and their entourages accidentally wade into the domain of intellectual property law. Politicians have famously gotten themselves into controversies by using musical works without the artists’ permission (though, without strong moral rights in the U.S., […]

The “Word” Is Not Enough: New Cybercrime Prevention Act Leaves Philippine Plagiarists Criminally Vulnerable (UPDATED)

The institution of a controversial new Cybercrime Prevention Act in the Philippines may leave plagiarists subject to criminal sanctions. The penalty for the plagiarism depends on the number of prior offences, but first-time infringers can expect up to one to three years in prison.

GuttenPlag: German Politician Brought Down By Anonymous Internet Activists

Taylor Vanderhelm is a JD candidate at the University of Alberta. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg stepped down in March 2011 from his position as German defence minister following revelations that he had plagiarized much of his 2006 doctoral thesis.

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Rules that Turnitin's Fight Against Plagiarism Does Not Violate Student Intellectual Property Rights: A Dissenting Opinion

Stephen Sharon is a recent graduate of Touro Law School in New York where he focused on intellectual property.  Stephen was also the first place winner of the Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for his submission of a case study about the legal battle between […]

Emily the Strange, or Emily the Plagiarized?

For nearly two decades, Rob Reger and his company Cosmic Debris have spent millions of dollars developing the fictional character "Emily the Strange" as a gothic rebel who finds nothing more boring than copying everyone else. Over the years, Emily has evolved from a skateboard design to a media empire which includes clothing lines, comic […]

“Fair Use” Helps in Battle Against Plagiarism of Student Papers

Afroditi Theodoridou is a PhD student at Osgoode Hall Law School. On April 16, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision in favour of iParadigms who operates the "Turnitin Plagiarism Detection Service". This online system evaluates the originality of submitted written assignments by comparing them with […]