Ethical and Legal Issues in Digital Information: Plagiarism Cases

This discussion post examines the ethical and legal issues surrounding plagiarism, focusing on the case of Jonah Lehrer and self-plagiarism. The author details how Lehrer reused his own previously published material in The New Yorker, infringing on the publisher's copyright. The post highlights that this practice is unethical because it violates the publisher's ownership rights. The response also includes a real-world example of plagiarism by Freed Zakaria and discusses the penalties for plagiarism in the music industry, referencing the case of Huey Lewis. Additionally, the post includes peer responses that agree with the ethical concerns of self-plagiarism, emphasizing the need for severe punishment to deter such actions. Finally, the post also touches upon the implications of publisher copyright and how it relates to the reuse of material without proper citation.

Self-Plagiarism, Ethics and the Case of Jonah Lehrer
In the case of Jonah Lehrer, the plagiarism that occurred is self-plagiarism. Lehrer was found
reusing the language that he had used in a previous editorial in the Wall Street Journal in an
editorial for The New Yorker. In addition to that, after the allegation of Lehrer recusing his work
in a different column, the information spread very fast across the world, which in turn realized
similar cases of linguistic reuse by Lehrer. Lehrer used to pull earlier works and using them in
his newer columns.
The ethical issues related to self-plagiarism is that it infringes on the publisher’s copyright.
Publisher copyright means that an individual’s words may not belong to the person after it has
been published. Research shows that the standard process of publication in journals entails
ceding copyright of the completed paper to the publisher. Although the person remains the
intellectual owner of the results as well as ideas, the publication remains the property of the
journal. Therefore, the reuse of the material without citation is unacceptable. The journals will
catch up with the person reusing the work during the publication process leading to blocking or
delaying the publication.
Freed Zakaria is another example of a real-world self-plagiarism. Zakaria was working as an
editor at Time magazine and a correspondent for CNN when he was accused of plagiarizing
some parts of his columns from a work he had used earlier in The New Yorker. Despite Zakaria
apologizing these organizations suspended him. Investigations were launched but failed to find
new issues against him and was reinstated.

Peer response to "Surfin USA."
I am impressed with your argument regarding the countless examples of plagiarism in the music
industry. Plagiarism in the music industry is a bad thing because it can result in loss of royalties
to hit a song known by Plagiarism in the music industry has a severe penalty. For example, Huey
Lewis sued Ray Parkers Jr. for 5 million dollars for stealing from him. In order to curb the
increased cases of plagiarism in the music sector, individuals who intentionally steal works of
other artists should not only be heavily penalized but also given a lifetime sentence. By doing it
will discourage cases of plagiarism in the music industry.
Peer Response to "self-Plagiarism, Ethics and the Case of Jonah Lehrer."
I agree with your idea that self-plagiarism is a major ethical concern, although it is not practical
because of various practical reasons. Self-plagiarism should not be treated differently from that
in the learning environment because it will encourage laziness. When an individual is found
guilty of self-plagiarism, they should be punished severely unlike accepting an apology from the
individual. Self-plagiarism is justifiable unlike how Bailey thinks that a formal investigation
against self-plagiarism cannot be practical. Self-plagiarism goes against the publisher copyright.
I also like your real-world plagiarism example of Melania Trump using the work by Michelle
Obama’s speech, although this is not self-plagiarism.