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"Plagiarism is intellectual theft."
Therefore, it is not necessarily “intellectual” theft, as it not only relates to academics or written works, but digital works, art and creative works including dance. However, plagiarism in terms of creative arts is not always easy to detect, such as music, because they are rapidly progressing arts. Everything we see on the television, hear on the radio, and in productions are variations or developments of existing works, therefore certain phrases, verses, beats and progressions are copied, but with permission of course, this is where copyright law and infringement comes into play.
The implications of plagiarism in the creative industry are still very severe, because not only is the plagiarist prosecuted but in most cases is sued. Having ruined their own reputation and future prospects in their specific industry, the plagiarist still has to credit the original artist by sharing a certain percentage of their royalties/ earnings on the plagiarised work. (Dahl, K., 2015)
Nonetheless, as individuals we are all influenced by our societies and cultures and as a result would have been taught similar or even the same ideologies. It could be argued that rather it is who came up with the idea or theory first, but more importantly, who branded it. Therefore, plagiarism in this case would be classed as ‘intellectual theft’, despite us all being capable of the same thoughts and ideas, as this particular idea, by law had been founded first because it has been copyrighted and published (owner of works has legal rights).
Plagiarism not only happens amongst young students and in educational institutions but also in the professional world amongst highly established career people, sometimes unintentionally, which is quite rare.
More recently, a German politician, Ursula von der Leyen had been accused of plagiarism in her ‘doctoral thesis’. According to Gerhard Dannemann, the author of the copied text, he had found 27 ‘“elements of plagiarism”’ out of the 62 pages of her written work, which is quite a significant amount. (BBC News, 2016)
As this specific case of plagiarism was unintentional, Ms von der Leyen was not persecuted and kept her professional title, as this was simply a mistake. Nevertheless, this obviously has affected her reputation and had a negative impact on her university institution and political party, Christian Democratic Union) as this specific case in many people’s opinion suggests that they are accepting of plagiarism. In intentional cases, the plagiarist loses their job or position in authority, effectively becoming unemployable. Most future job prospects are significantly lowered due to the lack of trust, as no employee wants their business or themselves to be associated with such dishonesty.
In addition, plagiarism in the eyes of an employee or even an educational institution would show not just the lack of understanding and ability to express ideas, but also the lack of respect the individuals has for themselves, knowing the serious consequences and still willing to put themselves through a long and embarrassing court process.