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Fri 5 Oct, 2012 05:51 pm
A little more than four years ago, I published a document/form online (PDF format for printing). Suffice it to say that it amounts to a version of a common type of form (with no copyright issues). The difference between my form and similar forms involves some color-coding for ease of use. I made my form available for free so that others in my field of work can use it. Four years later, it's at the top of Google search results.
This week, I received an email from someone who (quite condescendingly) asked me where I got the form, and claiming that he is the "original owner and creator" of the form, and that I must cite him as the form's creator. In turn, I googled this person and found out he works in my field. Although I can't find anything in his CV that references creating a form like mine, what I can tell from his CV is that the bulk of his professional publications date to after I published my form. In other words, it's much more likely that he (probably unintentionally) plagiarized me, rather than I plagiarized him.
My best guess is that this guy "invented" his form and attempted to take credit for it. Then, someone said, "You invented that online form I've been using?" He panicked, googled the key words for the form, and found my webpage with the form. So he emailed me, accusing me of plagiarizing him, perhaps wondering to himself the entire time which of us published the form first.
My question is, what do I do? If this guy can prove to me that he published a form exactly like mine before I did, I'll happily credit him. But given that he gave no dates or evidence for his claim, I'm highly doubtful that this is the case. So far, he's simply emailing me swearing that he is the original creator and that I must credit him. He's no crackpot; his email address matches him as a respectable person in my field of work.
In short, I think this guy coincidentally "invented" something that I'd already invented. Whereas my piece of work is an inconsequential item to me that I made available for free online, his creation is an integral part of his CV (let's say, creating forms is his line of business). To keep him from looking like a jerk who stole his idea, he wants me to credit him on my website. And who knows? Maybe, at least initially, he truly believed that I'd plagiarized him. Maybe he's panicking, and doesn't care which came first, but wants me to give him credit so that he won't be outed as a fraud.
Me? I don't need the legal hassle that this guy could bring. If it came to a court battle, I have documentation and witnesses galore to prove that I created the form over four years ago. But I don't want to have a hire a lawyer to defend myself. But at the same time, this jerk has "my Irish up" by accusing me of plagiarizing him when that's not what happened. Although I'm sure it was coincidental, in the eyes of the law, he plagiarized me.
Help? Advice?
@lilyofthemohawks,
Do you have some proof, anywhere (for example the date of file created in your hard drive, print-screen image, rough draft editing from editors, etc.), of the date of publication when you published the document a little more than four years ago?
That's the only thing I can think of, to help yourself in this case against the claim made by the culprit, to show proof that it is your original work.
@Enzo,
That's just it--I have more than enough proof. I can prove when the file was uploaded four years ago. Within my small office, I instructed at least 50 people on use of the form over the past four years, each of whom would happily testify on my behalf. This guy can win only if he can prove that he created his form before I created mine; in which event, there's really no problem, since I'd be happy to credit him.
The problem is (from what I can gather) that this guy (a) knows he's in the wrong but (b) can't admit it because it makes him look like a fool/thief and therefore (c) he'd rather harass me and threaten me with legal action, e.g., fake righteous indignation, so that he looks like the wronged party in this dispute.
In other words, I'm more than likely in the right and would win the case if it came to that. But, in terms of the original legal question, it's not important enough to me to spend even $1,000.00 for two hours consulting an attorney. The only thing that makes me want to defend this issue with an attorney is the fact that this guy is being such a tremendous jerk about the whole thing.
LOL...it's not so much a legal question, as a moral/psychological/personal one. Am I crazy to contemplate spending thousands to defend myself against an accusation that's prima facie unimportant to me, just because the person threatening to sue me is coming across as a total douche, and my sole desire at this point is to put him in his place?
@lilyofthemohawks,
Quote:Am I crazy to contemplate spending thousands to defend myself against an accusation that's prima facie unimportant to me, just because the person threatening to sue me is coming across as a total douche, and my sole desire at this point is to put him in his place?
I don't have the evidence to judge the importance of your work that your published, nevertheless, your work is your work.
The last thing you want is be falsely accused of plagiarism charges. In academia, plagiarism is very detrimental to one's career, so take the matter seriously. A grand that may cost you today is worth it to end this dilemma. Especially if it means eliminating academic dishonesty on your part and any "branding" and false "libel" that may effect your future.
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