TWO YEARS AGO...

Two years ago I was accused of plagiarism and this caused an online 'scandal'. I apologised to the writer at the time, the writer I borrowed from, not because I felt I had done anything wrong, but because I had clearly upset her. I withdrew the 'offending' story from the public domain in deference to her, but did not feel that what I had written represented a wrong thing.

The writer in question maintained a noble quiet on the matter, except to let it be known that she was hurt. I was sorry she was so hurt. This was a writer that I had been nice to. When she was being attacked on the website of a scientific journal, attacked for her science-inspired writings, I was the first to jump to a defence of what she was doing; when she was depressed shortly after the publication of her book of short fiction, I took a moment from her life and turned it into a cheery piece of fiction just to brighten her day. So I did not ever intend to harm her. I did not think what I had done would.

I still do not think that what I did in taking from her story to tell mine, is wrong, though I am careful these days not to write in this way. I know this hurt writer finds inspiration herself in what others write, and finds ideas there and does not think anyone ever comes up with an unprompted idea, and discovers solutions to how to tell a story she is struggling with in the way another writer has told his story; indeed, she is a 'borrower'. But, still she is hurt, and still I am sorry for that hurt.

About fifteen months ago I sent the 'cheery piece I had written to brighten her day' to a charity publication along with two other pieces. I was fortunate enough to have all three accepted. Then someone wrote to the organisers and the publishers and complained that I was a plagiarist. A small behind-the-scenes discussion took place which threatened to have works withdrawn by three writers including myself. The organiser did not think I had done wrong, not from a cursory look at the matter. Then I was asked to choose one of my pieces and to have this be the only accepted piece for the publication. I chose the cheery piece I had written for the hurt writer; I thought this was a good choice, and that it would be a nice thing to do. Someone took further offence and threatened to write to the new publisher if my piece was accepted, and so in the end my piece was withdrawn with my consent and without fuss in order that the charity publication be a success. It was.

I am not a plagiarist. I am a writer. I am a good writer. I should not be prevented from writing or from being read. I should not be prevented from doing good with my writing. I think even this 'hurt writer' should accept this. She thinks I did wrong... but no law has been broken, and no one has been able to convincingly argue that someone's moral rights have been trampled on. Indeed, I am more and more convinced that no wrong has been committed here. But I have apologised, and I do work in a different way now, carfeful not to further hurt other writers.

MANNERS!

Is it plagiarism if you want to use an idea or image that appears in another writer’s work and you ask for their permission to ‘borrow’ it? If there is no acknowledgement on the new work to say you borrowed it and that you had permission so to do – then others, not knowing about the permission, are open to seeing it as simple theft? I know a writer who makes a stand against plagiarism and so you’d think she would not approve of this borrowing; but she has done just this and acknowledges the same quite openly on her blog. Surely this is using someone else’s idea? And as such this writer should be against it?

If this is not plagiarism, then someone who does the same without permission is doing exactly the same act, but simply has not followed the good manners of asking first. Does that mean that plagiarism of this kind is just a want of manners? And if it is, then should we be that bothered about such borrowings?

My own view is that it is silly to get worked up over this type of borrowing and that writers do this all the time and sometimes do it consciously and unconsciously. But if this sort of theft is alright, then there needs to be some thought about where the line of unacceptability can be drawn. Is this an arbitrarily drawn line and if it is, then who decides where it should go? Surely the copyright law was put in place both to acknowledge the impossibility of drawing such a line and to at least impose some sort of safeguard of a writer’s work… that’s why the specific arrangement of words is protected by copyright and why there is no copyright on ideas.