Plagiarism: Theft or Flattery?

In the age of Web 2.0, freelance writers are abundant. Articles, ebooks, seminars, press releases...do a search engine on any of those and you'll find thousands of writers offering these services. I've written press releases for clients and for myself. And as a result of a Google alert for the phrase "virtual assistant", I discovered a press release that was almost word-for-word the same as one of mine.

At first I just noticed that it sounded familiar and recognized a few phrases as my own. Then I pulled up my own press release online and did a side by side comparison. I was shocked to discover that that it was more than a few phrases. There were several sentences, including a quote, that were identical.

I was torn between being offended that someone copied my work and flattered that they thought highly enough of mine to copy it. After getting some advice from a group of business women for whom I have the utmost respect, I decided that confronting this person was necessary for my sake and for their own. I was reluctant to do it because I felt bad that this person was struggling enough that they resorted to plagiarism. However, had this person admitted that and approached me for some assistance, I would have been more than happy to help because I know how frustrating and discouraging it feels when you're trying to start your own business. There's also the possibility that this person paid someone else to write their press release and the person they hired is responsible. If that's the case, then this business owner is entitled to a refund at the very least.

When you "borrow" someone else's work, you are at risk of damaging your own business reputation. With search engines, alerts, and even websites that can check for duplicate work, running across something like this is fairly simple. You also have no control over who sees it. Unlike local newspapers, the Internet reaches people across the globe. If a potential customer or client discovers this you may lose their attention and their business.

You also risk alienating others and harming the person whose work you copied. In many cases, articles or other postings do not have any indication of the date they were written or published. Therefore it may leave people wondering which work is the original and they may question the credibility of both people.

If you're struggling with a business task, the best thing to do is to do the research on your own and learn the skill yourself or hire a Virtual Assistant who has that skill to help you with it. You may even find someone who, like me, would have been willing to assist you for a very small fee or at least point you in the right direction without charging you anything.

Whatever the task may be, take the time to find resources to help you out before resorting to stealing someone else's ideas or words. Not only will you save yourself, your business, and a potential lawsuit but you will also have that feeling of accomplishment and pride for doing it on your own.