Plagiarism; It Affects Us All

Plagiarism is defined as the act of either using the direct ideas, or ones that are similar to another person’s work. Lethem argues that plagiarism cannot be accounted for in all circumstances. For example, artists could never possibly accuse all those who plagiarize their work in some way. The salespeople who take pictures of the work and recreate it in a tabloid or flyer would be considered plagiarizers. But if this marketing process was not used, how many consumers would be willing to buy a painting that they were unable to see beforehand. Lethem stated his concerns by stating, “Artists and their surrogates who fall into the trap of seeking recompense for every possible second use end up attacking their own best audience members for the crime of exalting and enshrining their work.” Lethem explains that consumers are undeniable criminals of plagiarism. They hang another artist’s work on their wall when it truly isn’t theirs. Lethem also goes on to express the fact that famous authors would be accusers of plagiarism when they sign the copies of their books. So overall, if plagiarism were to be taken seriously, artists would not be able to compose a lot of material because the styles and techniques of artists before them are still used today. There are still artists who paint a massive picture of a woman without eye-brows, similar to that of the Mona Lisa, and artists who create sculpture of the famous philosopher Plato, as other sculptures have done before. Plagiarism would hinder artists as they would be unable to expose their work, or receive inspiration from other works to compose their own.

Lethem concludes that the public is the population of people who are affected by the plagiarism situation the most. They have to conform to the ruling that is made about the process. Their ability to buy certain products, or incorporate certain ideas into anything they can possibly produce will all be determined by whether plagiarism will be enforced or not. The public is the one who buys artist’s paintings, read author’s published books, and buy the music that is produced. And at the same time, the public will be the ones who will suffer. If plagiarism is enforced, will the public be at liberty to express their admiration and inspiration of a favorite song, or recreate their favorite artist’s painting? Most likely not.