RolePlayGateway?

Disclaimer: My statements here in no way represent United States Copyright law or the rules here on RPG. They are very simply my opinion on the subject of plagiarism and originality.

So now that we?ve gotten that out of the way, let?s begin. As you?ve probably noted from the short disclaimer, this post is about my opinion on the matter of plagiarism and how it differs from the use of a common trope.

When I as a writer come up with a character, location, history, or plot, I take a great amount of pride in it. To me, my creation is my own and I?d be rather upset if one was to ?steal? or copy it. If I stumbled upon a word for word copy of my creation, needless to say I?d be rather upset, as would most writers. It?s well within my right and the right of others to be upset.

Obviously, one doesn?t need to copy something word to word for it to be considered plagiarism. Simply switching or changing the wording of an idea doesn?t make it your own.

Now, we run into the question of the ?reach? of a writer and what some may believe constitutes plagiarism but actually doesn?t. When you create a character or plot chances are that the basic premise and ?idea? has been done before. I?ve yet to find a character that I couldn?t simplify into a simple trope or clich?. There?s nothing inherently wrong with that, not at all. A character/plot/whatever is more than just the trope, clich?, or basic premise it falls into.

A problem arises when creators of said character/plot/whatever start claiming that others who use the same premise or trope are ?plagiarizing? their work. Let me explain something to those that think this way:

You?re not the first to come up with the idea of a Vampire-Werewolf hybrid, you?re not the first to come up with the idea of a Supernatural Detective Agency, and you?re not the first to come up with the idea of a guy in a Mech Suit.

These are all broad and common tropes/clich?s/characters/ect. You don?t get to claim that someone else who decides to use a similar premise to yours is ?stealing? or plagiarizing your work. A trope isn?t ?work?; it?s barely even an idea.

Take a look at tvtropes.com. If the idea that you?ve claimed has been plagiarized shows up on the website, chances are it hasn?t and you?re claiming a trope as your intellectual property.

There?s also the much-needed differentiation between inspiration and plagiarism. When someone see?s your half-horse-half-human cyborg in Gambit?s and decides to make his own, it?s not automatically plagiarism. It?s inspiration and theirs a subtle difference.

Now, if said person decides to mimic your characters History, appearance, fears, demeanor, weapons, name, ect; sure, it?s pretty much obvious that said person is plagiarizing your work. But if the person takes an idea that you?ve presented with your character, digests it, and spits out his own unique take on it?s premise, it?s not plagiarism. Not in the slightest.

In conclusion, next time you?d like to claim that someone stole your character, your plot, your whatever, stop. Take a look at your creation and think "Is he copying my character, or simply creating his own take on the premise of my character." There?s a key difference between the two that people need to begin to realize. Next, think "Was my work actually inspired by another person's creation?" and "Could my character actually be considered plagiarized under the same circumstances in which I?m making an accusation against another." Simply, are you being a hypocrite?

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