Plagiarism goes beyond copying someone’s assignment from the internet and calling it your own. In the business world, it’s stealing someone else’s idea, spoken word, or any form of artistic expression and not giving them due credit. So, it’s not something to worry about only for the professional writers or the students.
Business owners must be aware of plagiarism rampant in the market. Too, every growing business must know the consequences of plagiarizing another business’s ideas and implementing them without a signed agreement.
Why business plagiarism is rising
There is no single and solid factor that can explain why business plagiarism and copyright infringement are rising. Most of the people who get laid off due to the down economy are desperately looking for something to do to earn little money to sustain their activities. In most cases, only a few succeed finding new business ideas to venture into. The rest end up producing the same products manufactured by another company without their consent.
The cost of coming up with a legit business is very high, especially when the economy is down. Everything that business-oriented people need to carry out their business ethically is expensive. To make the matter worse, there is no surefire way that they will get adequate profits to sustain the business. So, most of them find cheap ways of doing business, which usually leads to plagiarism.
Young entrepreneurs who were students yesterday and have no experience are often asked to check plagiarism. That’s especially those who are in the line of beauty and writing. Just imagine how hard it can be to produce a unique scent! On the other hand, college students who run writing startups should check their plagiarism to ensure their quality work is authentic. Whenever I write an article, I check my plagiarism on Fixgerald. It’s a wonderful tool that makes the process fast. And every young entrepreneur who graduated recently can learn the process easily.
How plagiarism occurs in business
In the news industry, most reporters have been caught lifting paragraphs from other reporters’ work without acknowledging the source. There are other businesses that have been caught using photos and videos belonging to specific individuals for their marketing purposes.
This is plagiarism too. There are cases where small companies steal designs or the proprietary codes of the other established firms. It happens vice versa, too, where large companies steal from smaller companies. Ripping off someone’s architectural design is similar to copying their work without their consent, which is plagiarism. It’s just unethical businesses that play these games.
Consequences of plagiarism
Whether in school or as a young entrepreneur, there will always be consequences for plagiarizing someone’s work. So, the best thing you can do is avoid plagiarism altogether. Otherwise, you may risk facing the following consequences.
Legal repercussions
Depending on the severity of the content plagiarized, you can face some serious legal repercussions. In most states, there is no way around copyright laws. If you use someone’s work, you have to acknowledge that you got it from the source.
Otherwise, you may end up in a prison cell. So, if you are doing business, you must act as per the code of ethics. Be professional in handling things in your business, which will save you from copying other brands.
Tarnishes brand reputation
Just imagine what will happen if your customers learn that you have been stealing someone’s property and using them illegally. Do you think most of the customers will stay? Of course, no. Customers like being associated with companies that produce authentic products.
And this means any single case of plagiarism will tarnish the business’s brand reputation. Not only will you lose the customers, but you will also lose any new potential clients who might be interested in your product and services.
End of career
If you are responsible for copying the design in the company, you might be fired on the spot. That’s the way most companies deal with cases of plagiarism. They want to prove to the customers that they have taken the necessary measures and it will never happen again.
On the other hand, if you commit plagiarism in your upcoming business, it will be tough for the customers to believe that you can produce anything good for them. And this spells doom for the career you have worked to build for so long. Still, you can be charged heavy fines that will cripple the startup’s operations.
Conclusion
There are several ways plagiarism happens in business and why it happens. As the cases of plagiarism keep rising, serious legal repercussions have been put in place to curb this trend. A simple mistake of copying someone’s work without their consent will result in the closure of the business.
Author’s Bio
Nathaniel Burnett writes for various news outlets as an independent news reporter and also freelancer for academic websites that provide essays and thesis to students. He’s a brilliant writer who has developed skills through experience and online classes. His free time is for yoga classes, reading novels and solving puzzles.
