Plagiarism
1. What is plagiarism?
Webster online-dictionary defines plagiarism as an act to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s own, use another’s production without crediting the source, to commit literary theft or present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.[i]
According to Tony T.N Huang of Hong Kong Baptist University, plagiarism means “taking someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own” and “is the most common form of intellectual dishonesty.”[ii]
However, when it comes to intellectual things, plagiarism seems hard to be clarified in black and white. Because the process of thinking and organizing thoughts is hard to prove or shown to people.
My understanding towards those definitions is plagiarism should be avoided consciously during the process of thinking, generating and producing, but not the final result. There is an old saying both in Western countries and China that great minds think alike. The ideas and thoughts could be identical, but, base on various brand structures and different life experiences, the process to generate couldn’t.
2. Can I legally post any picture on my blog that I have downloaded from the Internet as long as I credit the source?
I think it really depends on the function of my blog and what picture I’m going to post.
If I publish my blog for non-profit purpose and use it personally, I think it would be legal to post any picture with detailed source or certain permission.
For famous pictures which have wildly known or used by public, such as classic paintings, photographs and so on, I can post them on my blog with clear source.
For the pictures which owned by certain people, I will consult their owners and ask for permission to post them on my blog.
For the pictures which have been published by media or news agencies and have already lose their time values, I can post them for non-commercial purpose with clear source.
[i] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarism
[ii] http://buar.hkbu.edu.hk/uploads/files/avoiding_plagiarism/I_Introduction.pdf
