Strategies for Combating Plagiarism

Plagiarism is among the biggest concerns for writers, students, artists, business owners, and almost everyone who has any link with content creation of any type. As a result, individuals, businesses, companies, education institutes, search engines, and even countries search for different ways to combat plagiarism and copyright infringements.

In the online and digital world, most people believe that plagiarism is an issue for content creators. Because they have to develop content from scratch to maintain uniqueness to bypass plagiarism checkers. Plagiarism is a major concern for those who have developed any content, whether it is music, art, text, logos, etc. Therefore, they are more worried about the issue. They don't want anyone to steal their work and claim authority. 

Both parties, those who are curating content or those who have already developed it have to take significant steps to combat plagiarism. Otherwise, they may have to face serious consequences. Let's get started with how to maintain uniqueness while developing creative work!

How to Ensure Uniqueness in Your Artistic or Creative Work?

Art is not only limited to painting, sculpture, architecture, acting, or music. Every domain where the creators use their imaginative and artistic skills to create something new and unique falls under the umbrella of art. However, copying someone else and constructing a masterpiece can never be considered art or creativity. It doesn't matter whether someone copies Mona Lisa and creates a better version; it will also be remembered as a copy. Furthermore, the creator of that content will also be considered a copier or fraudster.

If you don't want these labels with your work or name, you must emphasize distinctiveness and individuality. You must follow an approach known as reverse image search to check your work's originality. Otherwise, your efforts won't reap any fruit. So, here are some ways to bring uniqueness to work.

Learn the Difference Between Inspiration and Imitation

Getting inspiration from others' work is always helpful and inevitable in most cases. However, it doesn't mean someone should replicate or reproduce a work. When it comes to avoiding plagiarism, you must learn the primary difference between inspiration and imitation.

Inspiration is getting some creative and peculiar ideas from others' work but not with the intent of stealing or reproducing them. Most artists, theorists, and even philosophers are inspired by others, and they openly discuss it. 

For example, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Di Vinci, and many big names inspired most artists postcolonial and even modern artists. But they don't literally copy the work of their inspirations. Instead, they use the acquired knowledge and skills, put their creative input into their work, and can claim ownership because they have created something new out of thin air.

Imitation, on the other hand, doesn't need any creativity. It is an act of just copying what's already been done. For instance, if there's a dog painting on the wall, someone can paint an exact replica of that painting. There's no creativity involved, and it's not their idea. The person who imitates has no ownership over their work because they didn't create it themselves. 

So, not only the intention but also the execution makes a difference between inspiration and imitation. 

Inspiration is acceptable, but imitation is considered plagiarism or content stealing. So, don't ever imitate anyone's work if you want to combat plagiarism.

Create the Content Yourself 

Plagiarism mainly occurs when people don't create any content themselves. When a creator relies on others' works to get ideas, imaginations, and words to use, they welcome instances of plagiarism. That's why most artists suggest newbies create everything themselves, not replicate others.

Although this practice could be difficult initially, it provides many future benefits. For example, it saves their work from being called a recreation of someone else's work. In addition, this practice can surely minimize the chances of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism.

Moreover, it can boost the imaginative and creative skills creators need the most to excel in their respective domains. So, they won't ever find the need to copy others whenever they have to develop something in some field. 

Develop a Unique Style

Here is the best tip to combat plagiarism during the content production phase. Although content generators should reflect their school of thought, they must develop their unique style of creating their work. That style helps them in various ways. For instance, using that particular style, they may alter the borrowed ideas into creativity and easily bypass any plagiarism or copyright test. 

Furthermore, with the help of that distinctive style, they can get recognition from their targeted audience. When they develop a masterpiece, people will immediately know who is behind that creativity.

Improve Skill Set

Those art or content generators mostly have to rely on others who lack the skill set to develop something from scratch. So, they use unethical and illegal activities. They may combine the work of various artists or recreate a single piece of art. This trick offers more harm than benefits. Just to minimize these inconveniences, people should make it a habit to check their writing for duplication by utilizing a free plagiarism checker because duplication can ruin a person's reputation and subject him to legal action from the rightful owner of the intellectual property.

On the other hand, artists with extraordinary and notable skillset don't need to copy others. They can create anything from scratch utilizing their skills. Imagination and observation are the most valuable skills every artist should hone with time. The more they work on these skills, the better it is for them. Utilizing these two skills, they can perfectly get ideas from their surroundings and create extraordinary art pieces.

Let's see plagiarism from the other perspective! 

How to Prevent Others from Stealing Your Content?

There are various ways to prevent others from plagiarizing or copying your creative work. The best and the most useful ones of them are mentioned below.

Learn About the Laws Addressing Copyrights and Plagiarism

Copying or stealing the intellectual property or artistic work of people is no more only an unethical activity; it has become illegal as well. Almost every country has implemented clear laws regarding copyrights and plagiarism. These laws are built to protect the intellectual property of individuals and organizations. If a company or individual breaks those laws and indulges themselves in this illegal activity, law enforcement agencies can take legal action against them.

The plagiarists have to bear severe repercussions for their actions. However, there is a significant problem with people. They don't know what those laws state and what rights they have regarding their intellectual property. Furthermore, they don't know which particular authorities are developed to protect their rights. So, they don't take any serious actions against copiers and let them use their work to generate revenue and get other benefits.

To know more about the rights you have regarding your intellectual property or work, you must learn about WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). You would be amazed to know that this is an agency of the United Nations built to protect people's work from being copied by others. It collaborates with various governments and international organizations to create global policies regarding copyright and plagiarism laws.

Inspired by the work of WIPO, the United States has also passed a law named the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that discourages the creation and dissemination of plagiarized content on various networks and services. This law has also inspired many countries and world organizations to work collectively to stop every kind of plagiarism and intellectual property theft.

DMCA laws apply not only to content published in hard form but soft form as well. That's why knowing about this law is inevitable for all those who don't want others to plagiarize their content.

Get Copyright License Immediately

Getting a copyright license is essential whenever you create an artistic or intellectual work to stop fraudsters from copying or pirating it. Many pirates and fraudsters always search for the type of content that they can utilize in their favor. However, most of them don't try to copy the text or any other kind of content protected by copyright laws.

The moment you get the license and clearly mention the authority of the work, others will keep themselves away from your content. That's why most creators always get that license before publishing or releasing their work. In case you have bought a license for your work, you can also claim compensation if someone plagiarizes your content.

Protect the Work with Watermarks

Releasing the work with watermarks is also a great way to combat and discourage plagiarism. The problem is that watermarking is only beneficial for work that is distributed in graphical form. Pictures, paintings, logos, videos, and other graphic designs can be protected by this method. 

But the question is, what should artists do to protect other kinds of content, including text documents and music? These kinds of work can be saved from plagiarism with the help of using online tools to add watermarks, and limiting downloading and saving options (screenshots and screen recordings).

Take Actions Against Plagiarists  

Those unaware of the copyright laws don't try to take down the websites or platforms that use their content without consent. However, after the introduction of DMCA laws, it is pretty easy to take legal action against everyone copying your work. There are plenty of cases where copyright law violators have regretted their actions after receiving legal notices.

When you take action against one plagiarist, you threaten numerous ones from plagiarizing your creation. So, if someone is stealing your content, send a legal notice, get compensation and intimidate others.

To Summarize

Plagiarism or content theft is a problem for artists, historians, and even ordinary content creators. When you write or publish content, your worries about plagiarism aren't over. You will have to ensure that no one copies it for financial gain. However, the strategies mentioned in this article are helpful and practical for all who want to combat plagiarism at every phase.