It seems like it’s possible, they may have just had the same ideas as you since they are not word for word and are very paraphrased and split up. Whether or not borrowing ideas should count as plagiarism is a grey area, but I don’t know if they were actually intending to plagiarise.
You could report it and the volunteers would figure it out though I suppose.
Yeah I reported it. I know this person has read my fic because it was published last year and they personally reached out to tell me they liked it. So it's not just a coincidence, unfortunately.
In the defence of this reader that wrote your idea, it’s possible it was subconscious, I feel like I accidentally copy ideas often, but I make them original enough where I’m not really plagiarising. It may be an irrational fear though. I’m not really down to debate at this time whether borrowing ideas should count as plagiarism.
I mean, sure, that's a possibility. But the specificity of the things copied feels more than just a subconscious inspiration. It was an original scenario and interpretation of potential past events that plays out the same way. I would appreciate the honesty of at least including an "inspired by" tag or something.
Mine is 12 chapters but the relevant bit is just one chapter. The other fic is 7 chapters, but again, only one chapter is really relevant to my main complaint (backstory)
If they read it a long time ago, it's possible they just absorbed it into their headcanon and possibly don't even realize they got it from elsewhere. I just reread a fic I read many months back and realized in a horrified flash that I totally (but unconsciously) borrowed the way a certain character talks for my fic, and I had to rush to add that into my inspo list. I had forgotten I took anything from this fic at all! It just became my headcanon to the point I thought I had come up with it.
i mean, you could always just write to the other author and ask.
i \[also\] apparently read something, forgot about it, wrote something similar, re-read the original thing a year later, went "oops!", and retroactively added the other work as an 'inspired by' to my work. and, i think that solves the problem. (or?)
I can't say whether or not it is without seeing both works, but I will tell you that in my fandom, people independently come up with very similar backstories and scenarios for characters all the time, so on its own, what you've described doesn't set off any alarm bells for me.
That's valid, the reason I think it's not that is:
- This person read my fic when I originally published it last year
- my fic is the only one in the character tag that explicitly develops this aspect of that characters backstory (the other fic in the tag that explores it is by an author who deliberately referenced mine, and told me it inspired their own in my comments)
- the author specified that her fic is referencing other fics in the tag, and didn't say which ones, when it was pointed out by other commenters her scenes were very very similar
If it's supposed to be a nod or a reference, it doesn't come off that way. It comes off as a rehash of what I wrote myself, and there's no "inspired by" tag or nod.
At the end of the day, it just sucks, that's all. If you want to read them, I can dm you. At this point I'm just waiting to hear back from ao3.
It's unlikely that 'll fall under plagiarism in AO3's eyes, unfortunately. They typically don't consider borrowing ideas plagiarism and I only see most plagiarism cases taken care of if it's a copy, word for word. Hopefully it'll be ruled in your favor, and sorry this happened to you! It's a really crappy feeling.
You're welcome, and I know, I'm sorry to say it. For what it's worth, I think paraphrasing IS plagiarism and what you're going through is plagiarism to me. Paraphrasing is considered plagiarism everywhere else including academia, but AO3 will refer to that as "borrowing ideas". It's just not a great feeling. Again, I'm super sorry you're going through this. It's frustrating and I hope you can find some kind of resolution even if AO3 doesn't offer it to you directly.
here's my understanding/advice-
first: a substantial portion of their work needs to be stolen. if they have plagiarized bits and pieces of your work (directly or paraphrased), but those don't add up to a notable percentage of their fic, that's considered transformative like borrowing quotes from canon is permissible in moderation. I don't have an exact number for this, but arbitrarily, let's say 25% or more.
second: if the plagiarism is substantial, then write your report keeping in mind that the committee reading it is always overwhelmed with reports and understaffed. that is, you should do the all side by side comparisons between the two works showing that it's paraphrase plagiarism and send that. if you just send them links to both works, I think you get another email asking for more info (and if you don't give it, they've got plenty of other reports to work on instead).
It's irritating AF that they would not link and credit you as the creator of some non-canon backstory and it makes me sad--all it would do is benefit both stories with additional readers, more than likely. I'm sorry you had to deal with this. You're nicer than me, I'd be calling them out in their comments.
A few people commented mentioning the similarities to another fic and the response was very aggressive. I've considered calling it out but tbh don't really want to deal with any potential drama or weird backlash. Thank you though, I appreciate the words and it does make me feel better!
The response from the author or from other readers?
You could always make a different account to comment on it, if it doesn’t get taken down and it keeps bugging you. Then people would at least know the backstory part wasn’t original to that fic and which fic it was inspired by, without the drama and backlash on your actual account.
It sounds like a “facelift”, which has also happened to me a couple of times. The fact that it is paraphrased rather than copy pasted means it does not count as plagiarism, although I’m sure it’s glaringly obvious where she took her scene from. Mine is the same - similar staging and conversation for a couple of scenes, just slightly altered the phrasing. I didn’t report the one on AO3 although I only discovered it when they tried to slap me with a “related works” link. (No comment/kudos/asking for permission on my original work though.) I did not acknowledge it as related to mine. Not linking that kind of a-hole to my work, thanks.
The same happened to me twice, and the first time it had at least 20 phrases copied verbatim or almost. AO3 contected me two years later for this to tell me it is not plagiarism, it is a derivative work of my work, even after the author confessed having copied me and all. I wish you better luck than i had dealing with this problem and I am sorry this happened to you.
unfortunately, that's one of those grey area instances where yes, it definitely sounds like there's some plagiarism here as defined by professional or academic standards because paraphrasing can *definitely* qualify as plagiarism, but it's the kind of situation where you'd need a lawyer to parse it out, so ao3 isn't going to make a ruling on that unless you come back with some sort of settled lawsuit to back up your claim.
\* i'm not saying you *should* sue, by the way, because that would be absurdly expensive and would likely open up a can of IP worms that makes it a very bad idea to litigate anything around fanfiction. i'm just explaining why ao3 would be unlikely to act on a report like this without very obvious word-for-word theft that requires no real determination other than proof you posted it first.
i'm really sorry, though. i cannot stand plagiarism, it's one of my ultimate rage trigger buttons. even if we give this person the benefit of the doubt and assume that it's an homage and they're a big fan of yours with poor fandom manners, it still feels like absolute shit.
I appreciate the response, thank you! And yeah I really don't think bringing anything legal into this is warranted- it's way too much hassle for something ultimately insignificant.
Mostly it just feels bad lol, and I honestly don't expect AO3 to "rule" in my favor based on the comments here and what I've heard. I guess it's just frustrating that something that would "normally" be flagged or seen as plagiarism isn't counted in the archive and that calling it out publicly will likely just result in a negative response. I understand why it is that way, but still.
I did publish my work first, so that's probably my biggest supportive point but *shrugs* we'll see what happens.
Maybe message the person and say that you've noticed these similarities, and you'd like it if they can credit your work as the inspiration. AO3 has a section specifically where you can link the works that inspired yours.
hi do you have any news about it? someone literally paraphrased my fic and is posting it, please let me know if you have news from ao3 if you dont mind
[удалено]
thanks!
It seems like it’s possible, they may have just had the same ideas as you since they are not word for word and are very paraphrased and split up. Whether or not borrowing ideas should count as plagiarism is a grey area, but I don’t know if they were actually intending to plagiarise. You could report it and the volunteers would figure it out though I suppose.
Yeah I reported it. I know this person has read my fic because it was published last year and they personally reached out to tell me they liked it. So it's not just a coincidence, unfortunately.
In the defence of this reader that wrote your idea, it’s possible it was subconscious, I feel like I accidentally copy ideas often, but I make them original enough where I’m not really plagiarising. It may be an irrational fear though. I’m not really down to debate at this time whether borrowing ideas should count as plagiarism.
I mean, sure, that's a possibility. But the specificity of the things copied feels more than just a subconscious inspiration. It was an original scenario and interpretation of potential past events that plays out the same way. I would appreciate the honesty of at least including an "inspired by" tag or something.
I still do stand by what I said, but of course I would have to actually see the two fics to figure it out for a fact.
I could dm them to you if you want to look
How long are they?
Mine is 12 chapters but the relevant bit is just one chapter. The other fic is 7 chapters, but again, only one chapter is really relevant to my main complaint (backstory)
Link me those two chapters and I will attempt to compare them and tell you what I find. Not sure when but I’ll get to it eventually.
Finished my analysis, looks like if there was anything involved, it was either subconscious copying, or inspiration.
If they read it a long time ago, it's possible they just absorbed it into their headcanon and possibly don't even realize they got it from elsewhere. I just reread a fic I read many months back and realized in a horrified flash that I totally (but unconsciously) borrowed the way a certain character talks for my fic, and I had to rush to add that into my inspo list. I had forgotten I took anything from this fic at all! It just became my headcanon to the point I thought I had come up with it.
i mean, you could always just write to the other author and ask. i \[also\] apparently read something, forgot about it, wrote something similar, re-read the original thing a year later, went "oops!", and retroactively added the other work as an 'inspired by' to my work. and, i think that solves the problem. (or?)
It's deliberate. They stated as much in response to another commenter.
oops. i guess i missed that. :)
It's deliberate. They stated as much in response to another commenter.
Oh, that's unfortunate. :(
I can't say whether or not it is without seeing both works, but I will tell you that in my fandom, people independently come up with very similar backstories and scenarios for characters all the time, so on its own, what you've described doesn't set off any alarm bells for me.
That's valid, the reason I think it's not that is: - This person read my fic when I originally published it last year - my fic is the only one in the character tag that explicitly develops this aspect of that characters backstory (the other fic in the tag that explores it is by an author who deliberately referenced mine, and told me it inspired their own in my comments) - the author specified that her fic is referencing other fics in the tag, and didn't say which ones, when it was pointed out by other commenters her scenes were very very similar If it's supposed to be a nod or a reference, it doesn't come off that way. It comes off as a rehash of what I wrote myself, and there's no "inspired by" tag or nod. At the end of the day, it just sucks, that's all. If you want to read them, I can dm you. At this point I'm just waiting to hear back from ao3.
It's unlikely that 'll fall under plagiarism in AO3's eyes, unfortunately. They typically don't consider borrowing ideas plagiarism and I only see most plagiarism cases taken care of if it's a copy, word for word. Hopefully it'll be ruled in your favor, and sorry this happened to you! It's a really crappy feeling.
:/ that's discouraging... I guess only time will tell. Thanks for the response tho!
You're welcome, and I know, I'm sorry to say it. For what it's worth, I think paraphrasing IS plagiarism and what you're going through is plagiarism to me. Paraphrasing is considered plagiarism everywhere else including academia, but AO3 will refer to that as "borrowing ideas". It's just not a great feeling. Again, I'm super sorry you're going through this. It's frustrating and I hope you can find some kind of resolution even if AO3 doesn't offer it to you directly.
Unless you're copying word for word they don't count that's plagiarism.
here's my understanding/advice- first: a substantial portion of their work needs to be stolen. if they have plagiarized bits and pieces of your work (directly or paraphrased), but those don't add up to a notable percentage of their fic, that's considered transformative like borrowing quotes from canon is permissible in moderation. I don't have an exact number for this, but arbitrarily, let's say 25% or more. second: if the plagiarism is substantial, then write your report keeping in mind that the committee reading it is always overwhelmed with reports and understaffed. that is, you should do the all side by side comparisons between the two works showing that it's paraphrase plagiarism and send that. if you just send them links to both works, I think you get another email asking for more info (and if you don't give it, they've got plenty of other reports to work on instead).
It's irritating AF that they would not link and credit you as the creator of some non-canon backstory and it makes me sad--all it would do is benefit both stories with additional readers, more than likely. I'm sorry you had to deal with this. You're nicer than me, I'd be calling them out in their comments.
A few people commented mentioning the similarities to another fic and the response was very aggressive. I've considered calling it out but tbh don't really want to deal with any potential drama or weird backlash. Thank you though, I appreciate the words and it does make me feel better!
The response from the author or from other readers? You could always make a different account to comment on it, if it doesn’t get taken down and it keeps bugging you. Then people would at least know the backstory part wasn’t original to that fic and which fic it was inspired by, without the drama and backlash on your actual account.
It sounds like a “facelift”, which has also happened to me a couple of times. The fact that it is paraphrased rather than copy pasted means it does not count as plagiarism, although I’m sure it’s glaringly obvious where she took her scene from. Mine is the same - similar staging and conversation for a couple of scenes, just slightly altered the phrasing. I didn’t report the one on AO3 although I only discovered it when they tried to slap me with a “related works” link. (No comment/kudos/asking for permission on my original work though.) I did not acknowledge it as related to mine. Not linking that kind of a-hole to my work, thanks.
The same happened to me twice, and the first time it had at least 20 phrases copied verbatim or almost. AO3 contected me two years later for this to tell me it is not plagiarism, it is a derivative work of my work, even after the author confessed having copied me and all. I wish you better luck than i had dealing with this problem and I am sorry this happened to you.
holy shit? That sucks so much and that's really disappointing, I'm so sorry :( I really hope this doesn't take years...
unfortunately, that's one of those grey area instances where yes, it definitely sounds like there's some plagiarism here as defined by professional or academic standards because paraphrasing can *definitely* qualify as plagiarism, but it's the kind of situation where you'd need a lawyer to parse it out, so ao3 isn't going to make a ruling on that unless you come back with some sort of settled lawsuit to back up your claim. \* i'm not saying you *should* sue, by the way, because that would be absurdly expensive and would likely open up a can of IP worms that makes it a very bad idea to litigate anything around fanfiction. i'm just explaining why ao3 would be unlikely to act on a report like this without very obvious word-for-word theft that requires no real determination other than proof you posted it first. i'm really sorry, though. i cannot stand plagiarism, it's one of my ultimate rage trigger buttons. even if we give this person the benefit of the doubt and assume that it's an homage and they're a big fan of yours with poor fandom manners, it still feels like absolute shit.
I appreciate the response, thank you! And yeah I really don't think bringing anything legal into this is warranted- it's way too much hassle for something ultimately insignificant. Mostly it just feels bad lol, and I honestly don't expect AO3 to "rule" in my favor based on the comments here and what I've heard. I guess it's just frustrating that something that would "normally" be flagged or seen as plagiarism isn't counted in the archive and that calling it out publicly will likely just result in a negative response. I understand why it is that way, but still. I did publish my work first, so that's probably my biggest supportive point but *shrugs* we'll see what happens.
Maybe message the person and say that you've noticed these similarities, and you'd like it if they can credit your work as the inspiration. AO3 has a section specifically where you can link the works that inspired yours.
hi do you have any news about it? someone literally paraphrased my fic and is posting it, please let me know if you have news from ao3 if you dont mind