Copyright Infringement vs. Plagiarism: What's the Difference?

Copyright infringement and plagiarism are often used interchangeably. These terms can be confusing, but it is important to understand the differences as they represent distinct forms of legal and ethical violations…and have varying consequences.

Copyright Infringement

Copyright law grants the copyright owner the exclusive right to control how their original work is used, including reproduction, distribution, display, performance, transmission, and creation of derivative works. Copyright infringement means the unauthorized use of any of those rights without the owner's permission. Copyright infringement is a violation of intellectual property laws. Legal consequences can include fines, damages, and injunctions against further infringement.

Plagiarism

On the other hand, plagiarism is primarily an ethics breach related to academic and creative integrity. Presenting someone else's ideas, words, or work as your own without proper attribution is plagiarism. Of course, depending on the nature of the uncredited use, plagiarism can also be copyright infringement, but there can be plagiarism without copyright infringement since not all works are “copyrightable” (see Is Your Expertise Copyrightable? for more about whether a work is eligible for copyright protection). In the absence of copyright infringement, consequences for plagiarism range from academic penalties to damage to one's reputation.

A Few Examples

Copyright Infringement:

Let’s say you write a book about the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion in corporate boardrooms. It is written by you based on your expertise. As the author, you own the exclusive copyright in the book.

Now, let's say that without getting permission, aka a license, from you, someone uses your book as the basis for a workbook that they include in their own DEI training. They have made a derivative version of your book, then reproduced it and sold copies of it to their clients. Since they have used your exclusive rights without your permission, this is copyright infringement.

Plagiarism:

Now, let’s take the same scenario, except instead of making a derivative version of your book, they take a single graphic from the book that graphically compares returns of companies with a diverse board of directors against the S&P 500, and they include it in their presentations without crediting the source, making it appear as if it is their work.

This is plagiarism because they have used your work without attribution, but it is (likely) not a copyright infringement because statements of facts are generally not eligible for copyright protection. Passing off your comparison as their own is dishonest but not illegal.

Still have questions about the difference? Just ask.

Cheers.💡

Erin