How to Avoid and Detect Plagiarism

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Yesterday, I brought up the ugly fact that there is a lot of theft in the wedding industry these days. Images, design, and writing are being stolen. SAD! It’s really upsetting when you think about it. I mean, here we are… an incredibly creative industry full of brilliant artists… we collaborate, we share, we learn from one another. And, I have to bring up the big white elephant in the room: people are stealing from one another. I cringe when I say this. I’m proud to be a part of this industry and this one of the things that makes me least proud.

So, how can you prevent this? How can you know if someone has copied your content?

Here are a few strategies for preventing plagiarism:

Trademark your brand

A few months ago, we covered trademarking. There is only one sure way of preventing someone from using your brand name and that is registering it with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The cost is ~$375. The process is not complicated, but you should read directions carefully. No, you don’t need a lawyer, you just need to follow directions. You would need a lawyer if you find yourself in hot water. But, if you’re the first one to apply for that brand name, then it’s pretty simple.

Copyright your content

We also talked about copyrighting a few months ago. Copyrighting does not require any filing. Once you write something, it is yours. If you want to remind the person reading it that it is yours, you’ll want to use the copyright symbol: ©. Read our post on some other ways that you can assure that your work remains protected. You’ll want to make sure that your website says the words “copyright” or shows the symbol.

Put a legal notice on your website

This is where you’ll want to talk to your lawyer about some legalese that you can write on your website. Generally it is something to the affect of, “All content on Sage Wedding Pros’ website is property of Michelle Loretta and Kelly Simants. Use of anything on this website without our permission is stealing.” Your lawyer will be better able to advise you on this.

Google search occasionally

From time to time, it’s wise to google search phrases of text from your website to see if they pop up anywhere. You may want to do this with your tagline, especially if it is unique. If you say that you offer “simple and sophisticated wedding design” you may learn that it is not very unique. Chances are that you were not copied, but that it’s a very common phrase in this wedding industry.

Use a plagiarism search service

There are few online services that can scan pages of the internet to see if they match pages on your site. You simply enter a url and it will scan to see if it finds anything similar. These are free to search by page. Some of these offer paid subscriptions to have a constant surveillance for plagiarism:

What are your tips for avoiding and detect plagiarism?

Tomorrow, we’ll discuss what to do if you’ve been plagiarized.

by Michelle Loretta

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February 9, 2010 - 7:59 am Eric Kotara - Great post and some really useful information. All too often I hear of a fellow photographer who has had theft brought to their attention. Most times they aren't looking for it, they are told about it by someone else that knows them. More often than not they don't know how to handle the situation. So should we expect an article now on what to do when you find someone doing it :) The John Harrington book, "Best Business Practices for Photographers" has some great information about this topic.

February 9, 2010 - 9:55 am Evan Reitmeyer - MyDeejay - This is great advice, and something that every wedding business owner needs to take seriously. Over the past two years, we have found our company's copyrighted website text on over 60 other DJ websites and social networks. Combating infringement is more than just an issue of principle (although that is important as well), it actually hurts your website's SEO when other sites steal your text. Thanks so much for taking this issue on, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's post!

February 9, 2010 - 1:16 pm Laurel McConnell - Thanks for bringing this up, ladies! It really IS the big elephant in the room, and it will only decrease with awareness. Unfortunately, folks don't think it'll do any harm, and they'll screengrab, copy, paste, and regurgitate til their little hearts are content. Even if you've specifically asked them not to. Sigh.

February 10, 2010 - 8:17 am If You’ve Been Plagiarized » Sage Wedding Pros - [...] How to Avoid and Detect Plagiarism [...]