plagiarism

i think there was a thread about this over in the vegas section but i've started it here as this applies specifically to NY...

http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/how-csiny-most-definitely-didnt-steal-my-story

this article is by a guy who said he wrote a story as an april fool's hoax (ie wrote it as if it were investigative journalism when it was really just a story) and that it was later used in very similar detail for a NY plot. his case was dismissed partly because freelance written work on the internet isn't subject to the same copyright strictures as published work, and partly because CBS essentially claimed it was coincidence (despite admitting the writers had seen the article in question)

anyway, i thought it was interesting. i especially liked this bit:

... "the Episode’s tone is dark, and it clearly does not end as optimistically as the Article." Moreover, "the Article serves as a piece of social commentary," ... By that rationale, I can legally write a short story based on a recent "CSI: NY" episode—and, to make my case more airtight, just make the ending happier and with social commentary (Gary Sinise joyfully returns to his theatrical roots after becoming sickened by the phony entertainment industry!).

that'd be nice :)
 
I actually talked about this with some friends over the weekend! It sounds like the writers used the details in the story not realizing it was a hoax. The writer of the story is really getting screwed over by Radar and CBS. :(
 
that's how it seemed to me too - i guess sometimes it is hard to know which stories are real (especially on april 1st) but you'd think that, as writers, if they saw a story like that they could've done some fact checking before ripping it wholesale. as the writer says ripped from the headlines pieces are fine because you can't plagiarise real life, but if you see a story you want to use (or to put it in a nicer way, you are inspired by) you should at least check where it came from before doing so, no?

bizarre really. mind you the csiny writers are pretty low on my list of competent people at the moment, right behind gadaffi.
 
Back
Top