You are quite right that your guide is no longer literally “my work”. You have taken my work and superficially reworded it. You have changed subtitles from things like “Dragon Book 2 side quest - step one” to “Dragon Book 2 Side Quest Part 1”. (And of course, I am the person who decided to divide that bit of information into step one of a “side quest” anyway; it’s not as if anyone else has ever referred to it in that way. You clearly did not think up that division yourself; you copied it from my work.)
Practically all of the layout, style, order and content of your guide is unmistakably copied from mine. A few random things have been put in a different order, and a negligible amount of new content has been inserted, but that is all. The changes are superficial, and this article is ultimately a reworded, loosely edited version of my article.
For any members of the community who would like to compare the two, links follow:
[PAGES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM HIS SITE]
I am sure that it will be clear to anyone that your guide is directly based on mine. You have taken my considerable research and work, reworded it a little and given me no credit of any kind. You might not have noticed, but there is a piece of text at the bottom of every page on TWotA, reading:
Destroy the mutant stealing habits; it is the village’s code. The Will of the Ancients is an unofficial fansite that is in no way supported or associated with SEGA or Smilebit. Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Panzer Dragoon Orta and all other official Panzer Dragoon content is ? SEGA, 1995-2003. Everything else on this website was made or written by Solo Wing Dragon unless otherwise noted. Please ask me first before using any content on this website for fan or commercial purposes.
The images in question are indeed my own copyright property. Sega did not create those image files; I did. What the images portray is essentially irrelevant, as they appear on TWotA in the context of research and commentary; any copyrighted subject matter featured in them is clearly covered by the “fair use of copyright” principle. However, the files themselves are still my own copyright property, and the copyright statement on TWotA clearly says that you must ask permission to use any content on the site in your own publications. If you insist on keeping the images on your site without authorisation, you will simply be violating copyright law.
The text for your article most certainly is plagiarism, beyond any question or doubt. Here is a definition of plagiarism from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, which is quite clear:
To “plagiarize” means
- to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s own
- to use another’s production without crediting the source
- to commit literary theft
- to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.
Your guide is clearly attempting to “present as new and original an idea derived from an existing source”. As you can see, the wording of your guide is irrelevant; you are plagiarising my specific ideas. Your PDS guide unmistakably copies the principles of my document, as my concepts for layout, ordering of information and the information itself are all clearly copied. If you compare my guide to the other four or five PDS guides on the Net, you will find that they are executed in a considerably different way; yours is not. The information, style and format of your guide is very clearly copied from mine, thus your guide is plagiarism. Even more definitive is the following statement from the plagiarism.org information site:
Changing the words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent plagiarism. If you have retained the essential idea of an original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized.
As you have simply taken my guide, put it “in your own words” and published it as your own, there can be no question of its plagiaristic nature. And this may surprise you, but plagiarism is an illegal offence that literally violates copyright law, as plagiarism.org confirms:
Most cases of plagiarism are considered misdemeanors, punishable by fines of anywhere between $100 and $50,000 – and up to one year in jail. Plagiarism can also be considered a felony under certain state and federal laws.
Not to mention the fact that your guide features some copied and pasted text from my own guide that you have not even changed; so your text qualifies for straightforward copyright violation regardless. The pieces of unchanged text may be small, but considering the amount of time that I spent writing this article I have no difficulty spotting them.
I will ask you politely once again: please remove this article from your website, and all of the other images created by me that you have taken.
It is clear to me that you did not understand this was both plagiarism and copyright infringement, and I will bear you no ill feelings whatsoever if you do as I request. I am sure the rest of the online Panzer Dragoon community will also understand completely, as the nature of plagiarism is hardly as well known as it should be. You clearly have nothing to gain by keeping it online.
). I think it was a great idea to put it on your site, Legaia, it stops people who don’t know just how bad it is from wasting money on it, plus, in your version, at least you can close your eyes, listen to the music and pretend the anime isn’t happening.
