Plagiarism and Swiping

16 replies
I'd like to know your thoughts on this...

At what point does swiping become plagiarism?

Let's say you're swiping a letter sentence by sentence, what mistakes would constitute plagiarism?

It's interesting because plagiarism normally includes copying the thoughts and ideas of others...

But in copywriting we're always copying the thoughts and ideas of others.

It's like the same ideas over and over and over in a different structure and expressed differently.

Where does the line get crossed?
#plagiarism #swiping
  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    I addressed this question on a blog post which you can find here:

    Copywriting Tips And Tricks How to use swipe files

    -Ray Edwards
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  • Profile picture of the author indchris
    I think plagiarism is better defined as swiping a written structure, rather than a though or idea. No one has an absolute copyright over thoughts and ideas; what ideas go on through your head also go through the heads of others. Ever heard of a thought or idea per se being copyrighted? Here you will also have to take into consideration patent and trademark laws. These are largely related to written ideas in the form of diagrams and so on and are usually concerned with creating an end physical product. From my point of view, copying even a single sentence is absolute plagiarism, but it is extremely difficult to sustain the same argument when it comes to thoughts and ideas. Here another factor is also how the idea takes shape down the road. You have an idea, I chance upon it and then I develop on it and produce an end product. So who gets the copyright/patent? I get it! Am not an expert on the subject, hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonParker
    Thanks guys.

    ...I "get" that you take the selling power behind the words and use it in your own works.

    What I don't know is whether you can swipe a piece of copy line by line... almost like completely spinning an article.

    Seems like that'd be taking it a little too far, but then again, you see that all the time... just not with every single sentence in a letter being swiped in the exact same structure I guess.
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    • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
      Originally Posted by JasonParker View Post


      What I don't know is whether you can swipe a piece of copy line by line... almost like completely spinning an article.
      If you do that to a major mailer's copy you'll get a legal experience you will never forget. It's copyright infringement to swipe the words exactly, though arguably headlines are so recycled you can get away with a fairly exact copy of a proven headline. Swiping, legally and ethically, is about looking at the ideas behind successful ads and fitting them to your product. It's also useful to study the structure used in successful letters and borrow the order in which persuasive elements are introduced.
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      • Profile picture of the author JasonParker
        Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye View Post

        If you do that to a major mailer's copy you'll get a legal experience you will never forget. It's copyright infringement to swipe the words exactly, though arguably headlines are so recycled you can get away with a fairly exact copy of a proven headline. Swiping, legally and ethically, is about looking at the ideas behind successful ads and fitting them to your product. It's also useful to study the structure used in successful letters and borrow the order in which persuasive elements are introduced.
        None of you are understanding what I'm asking lol...

        And that's my fault.

        Forget it.

        Thanks.
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        • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
          Jason,

          If it's a totally different product, and you're constantly adjusting the wording accordingly, then following someone's sales letter structure structure is borrowing and not plagiarism, as far as I can tell.

          I can't imagine why you would want to "spin" the original sentence by sentence, however. That seems like very hard work, and also the result would most likely be a mess.

          So I'm not sure if you're asking a serious question here or just a hypothetical.

          Marcia Yudkin
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          • Profile picture of the author JasonParker
            Originally Posted by marciayudkin View Post

            Jason,

            If it's a totally different product, and you're constantly adjusting the wording accordingly, then following someone's sales letter structure structure is borrowing and not plagiarism, as far as I can tell.

            I can't imagine why you would want to "spin" the original sentence by sentence, however. That seems like very hard work, and also the result would most likely be a mess.

            So I'm not sure if you're asking a serious question here or just a hypothetical.

            Marcia Yudkin
            I don't exactly mean "spin" every sentence.

            I just mean copying the structure and sales psychology going on sentence by sentence.
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    yeah, in fact it's an interesting exercise to read a sales letter one paragraph
    at a time, aloud, and rewrite in your own voice, paragraph by paragraph.

    This way you learn about the persuasive structures of the masters, but
    you're doing it in your own most authentic way. You tell the same message
    and use your own language skills to do it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Originally Posted by JasonParker View Post

    Where does the line get crossed?
    The line would be crossed when your copy could easily be mistaken for the other person's.

    The line would be crossed if you took Ford's copy for a car, and used it to promote Chevy.

    If you are converting it, and making it different, into your own ideas, using concepts, emotions, and hot buttons they used, it would not cross the line.

    At least this is my simple opinion..
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  • Profile picture of the author Flareman
    So does that mean if a person paraphrases someones sales copy or even an article, that person gets away copyright infringement?
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  • Profile picture of the author webspider20
    There is a major difference when it comes to taking an idea as opposed to someones actual work.
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  • Profile picture of the author Flareman
    Ok heres the big question. What if you bought some PLR material, included some of that material in your ebook, membership program, articles, only to realise that the PLR material contains copyrighted info. What then? Whos at fault and will you, the seller of the ebook get sued or will the creator of the PLR material get sued?

    I know you guys are probably not lawyers in here, but it is certainly something to think about as far as copyright is concerned.
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  • Profile picture of the author WickedWally

    There are two parties involved in this...

    The Victim
    The Swiper

    It's ONLY plagiarism when The Swiper makes too much money by swiping the ideas of The Victim...

    If no money is made. No one cares.
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