Prevent Plagiarism Day

The Internet is a valuable tool. Not only does it allow us to communicate with others across the globe, study and shop from the comfort of home and find information on just about any topic under the sun, the rapid advances in technology are not without risk. Besides cyberbullying, phishing schemes and malicious viruses, today's technology makes it quite simple to "steal" people's work.

Feb. 19 is Prevent Plagiarism Day, an annual observance that raises awareness about "high-tech cheating." The Oxford Dictionary defines plagiarism as "the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own."

Freelance writer and newspaper columnist, Jace Shoemaker-Galloway, created the annual event after discovering repeated instances of "writers" publishing her work without permission or attribution. After asking one "writer" to remove her articles, Shoemaker-Galloway submitted Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown Notices and the articles were eventually removed by the webhosting company.

What's in a word? Plenty! While copying and pasting are simple to do, copyright infringement can result in some pretty serious consequences.