Definitions

Referencing material from other sources is an act that is allowed and encouraged by the law, while plagiarism, by contrast, is illegal. This is because a reference merely borrows the underlying idea of the work of another person (since the "underlying idea" of a work is not protected by the Copyright Law and can be freely used), while plagiarism expropriates the expression of an idea (which is the core asset that the Copyright Law seeks to protect). In practice, however, in many works, especially literature, film and TV works, the boundary between an "idea" and the "expression" of the idea is so blurred that a creator can be falsely accused of plagiarism simply for referencing another person's work.

Tips on avoiding plagiarism

If we understand why referencing might be mistaken for plagiarism, we can design solutions to avoid such mistakes. When referring the work of another person, we can take the following measures to avoid suspicion of plagiarism:

  1. Preserve the "footprints of creation". Such footprints, including drafts or sketches used for production or video clips that are not actually used in the final work, are evidence of the creation process. A creator may retain "footprints of creation" to defend itself in a possible future lawsuit; and these footprints can serve as strong evidence of the source of the new work.
  2. Show originality, or summarize and conclude rather than quote, while avoiding "slavish" copying. We may borrow the idea of another person's work, but we must avoid expressing the idea in exactly the same manner as the original work does. The narrative structure of Hero, a film directed by China's famous film director Zhang Yimou, for example, was inspired by Rashomon, a famous Japanese film directed by Kurosawa Akira, but does not constitute any kind of plagiarism.

(Source: How to Stay Away from Plagiarism when Referring to Another Party's Work: Tips on How to Avoid Plagiarism Disputes Using the Example of a Controversial Video Clip in a University Short Film by Qi Xiaoxian)

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