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Will you call it plagiarism?



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Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:31 am
DrFeelGood says...



Some years ago, I had seen a regional movie, which had an amazing scene, describing pros and cons of open book test. While writing my story, I found that if I retained that scene, the story would look really good. The plot of my story is way differnt from that movie. I also know that, no one will find out that the scene was actually borrowed. But please tell me whether this will be plagiarism? If it is yes, then I will delete it right away.
  





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Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:18 pm
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eldEr says...



Well, I wouldn't say that it's plagiarism, technically, if you're not copying the movie directly. Using the scene that you saw from the regional movie to inspire and outline the scene that you're writing isn't plagiarism, but copying it word-for-word, all of the dialogue, the scenes, etc, is technically stealing someone's copyrighted work.

There's nothing wrong with using that scene as inspiration. It's not even wrong to use a couple lines of dialogue that sparked your imagination in particular. But do not copy the dialogue or the behaviour of the characters word-for-word. You should be fine :)
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Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:10 pm
DrFeelGood says...



Isha wrote:Well, I wouldn't say that it's plagiarism, technically, if you're not copying the movie directly. Using the scene that you saw from the regional movie to inspire and outline the scene that you're writing isn't plagiarism, but copying it word-for-word, all of the dialogue, the scenes, etc, is technically stealing someone's copyrighted work.

There's nothing wrong with using that scene as inspiration. It's not even wrong to use a couple lines of dialogue that sparked your imagination in particular. But do not copy the dialogue or the behaviour of the characters word-for-word. You should be fine :)


Thanks! I will surely change the dialogues but retain the scene :)
  





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Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:38 pm
Rosendorn says...



The general idea is there needs to be a certain percentage of the scene changed— the number that comes to mind is 10 or 20 percent— to not be whacked with a theft charge.
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Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:55 am
DrFeelGood says...



Rosey Unicorn wrote:The general idea is there needs to be a certain percentage of the scene changed— the number that comes to mind is 10 or 20 percent— to not be whacked with a theft charge.


I had seen the movie nearly 10 years ago. Naturally, I remember only a limited part of the scene. So I can't retain anything more than 5% of the scene (Though the theme will remain the same)
  





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Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:21 am
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GreenLight24 says...



I think the simple fact that you're having doubts here should tell you that you should probably avoid "borrowing" that scene. Besides, "borrowing" isn't really the right term when you're re-using someone else's stuff. (No offense.) If you really like the scene that much, I would recommend that you try to use it as an INSPIRATION for your own original scene. Try to pinpoint the things that you love so much about and to implement those things into your own writing. I know you can do it, man! :D
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Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:17 am
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Shiverfeather says...



technically unless you use words it isn't plagiarism. No one can prove you used as idea from them and did not think of it by yourslef and technically no one has a totally original story since all ideas have been done. Unless you copied it out word for word and since you can't remember it all that won't be the case, there are no legal implications involved at all in any circumstance.
  





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Tue Nov 18, 2014 3:00 am
Pinkratgirl says...



If your scene can be easily linked to the movie you saw, yes, that would be plagiarism.
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Wed Nov 26, 2014 6:45 pm
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Spotswood says...



All authors borrow/steal from something. They call it inspiration, but it often goes a little bit farther than that. Look at Shakespeare? Sure many of his works were simply adaptations, but he also completely copied works of other stories without permission. The game Dragon Age completely ripped off (for the lack of a better way of saying such) of George RR Martin and Dungeons and Dragons, but the game is AMAZING nonetheless. But don't "rip off." While you can easily come up with original ideas via worldbuilding and establish your own concepts, very many ideas have already been used, but it is fine to use it again as long as you are not blatantly copying them. I am using the same exact plot twist as seen in a game I played years ago, but it is a good plot twist that would make M Night Shamalan poop his pants. But it's been used, most likely, in the past even before KOTOR. Storytelling, is about being original, but also about influence. I am influenced too by old fairy tales, and, as a complete Disney nerd, have even made subtle references to the movies Frozen and Tangled (I called an ice queen "Elsa" for crying out loud, but it was more of a nod as opposed to a rip off, since the character herself is mine and mine alone).

I say use it, but use the concept itself. Do not make it plagiarism, since plagiarism is the rape of the literary world, but borrow ideas. That is what fiction is all about, and all authors are aware of that.

As Picasso once said "Good artists copy, but great artists steal."
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Thu Nov 27, 2014 4:41 am
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Kale says...



My, what an old thread! But since it's been revived, I might as well weigh in.

There's worlds of differences between adapting a story, borrowing storytelling elements, and plagiarizing.

When you adapt a story, it's explicitly clear that 1) you did not come up with the original story and 2) you have the permission to adapt the story. Works that are in the public domain, such as fairy tales and the classics, are free for anyone to use and adapt as they wish because their copyrights have long since expired; however, the adaptations produced are not because substantial amounts of original content have been added to them, and that original content is protected under copyright.

Storytelling elements cannot be copyrighted, and so they are free to use for all writers. If we use the analogy of a puzzle and its pieces, storytelling elements are the pieces and a completed story is a puzzle. While each puzzle requires the use of pieces to be completed, each individual piece is not a complete puzzle in and of itself, and different combinations of puzzle pieces result in different completed puzzles. Only completed puzzles can be copyrighted, because their particular combination of puzzle pieces is unique.

Putting it back in story terms, only stories as they are written can be copyrighted. The ideas and elements used to make that story, however, cannot be copyrighted, and so anyone can use those story elements as they wish, so long as it is only the core elements that are used.

If a scene involves persons named Alice, Bob, Chase, and Danica having a talk about Specific Magical Object X, and your scene has persons named Ali, Bobba, Chesed, and Dan having a talk about Specific Scientific Object Y, and your scene has very similar dialogue to the original, then that is essentially plagiarism since all you're doing is taking an entire scene from another's story wholesale, making superficial tweaks like name changes, and then trying to pass it off as your own.

The thing about plagiarism is that it inherently involves you passing someone else's work off as your own. If you're taking something as-is from another's story and using it in your own work without crediting the original, then you are plagiarizing.

By all means, use the same elements as another scene or story you admire; just be sure to combine them in a way that is unique to you and your own stories.
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Wed Dec 03, 2014 9:35 pm
Spotswood says...



^what great advice
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Wed Dec 03, 2014 9:40 pm
DrFeelGood says...



@Kyllorac

I haven't worked on that idea but yes I do have a very unique story in mind and that scene which I wanted to use seems quite cliched to me when I look at it after so many days.

The funniest part is, I later found out that the scene I was talking about was in itself 'adapted' from a novel!!

But in general I like your suggestion! Thanks :)
  





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Wed Dec 03, 2014 10:19 pm
Spotswood says...



Here's a good plot twist device, just as an example.

You have a main character living in a world recovering from some really evil dude who is believed to have been killed. A new villain takes over the now dead villain's position and is bent on doing something bad. The hero is tasked with trying to stop him, but, two-thirds into the book, the hero discovers that he is, in fact, the old villain who was believed to have been killed. Due to his extreme intelligence, the ones who allegedly killed him in fact erased his memory to use him as an asset to destroy this threat once and for all. In the end, the hero redeems himself.

I'd suggest doing something like this. If you're interested, I'll go more in depth about this literary device if you would like any ideas on inspirational concepts. This itself is something that I am considering using, and I could tell you about it some more and let you know what it is from ;)

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Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:27 am
DrFeelGood says...



@Spotswood

First off, your idea is completely awesome. Rather than donating it to me, you ought to write it yourself. I'm glad to see such interesting ideas come up and I'd one day try to write such stories.

As of now, I write satire-comedy stories. To give you an example, one of my story had this plot: A man facing financial crisis decides to rob corrupt businessman and fund his orphanage. The fun behind this story was, these guys can't call the police because the stolen money is black and they would themselves get into trouble.

The story for which I had asked this question is about a student who realizes the importance of hard-work and dedication after a poor academic performance. I haven't written anything on it, but as you can see, my genre is quite different. Let's see if I can come up with such ideas after few years :)
  








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