Université Paris 13 99 avenue Jean-Baptiste Clément F 93430 VILLETANEUSE		Département d'études des cultures et pays anglophones
téléphone (phone): +33 (0)1 49 40 44 36	télécopie (fax): +33 (0)1 49 40 37 06	courriél (e-mail): sec-angl@lshs.univ-paris13.fr

Lorsque vous recopiez purement et simplement quelque chose qui n'est pas de vous et que vous vous en prétendez l'auteur, vous commettez deux délits. Vous commettez une escroquerie puisque vous prétendez vrai quelque chose de faux pour en tirer un avantage personnel. Vous commettez d'abord une contrefaçon. La contrefaçon d'une œuvre de création originale s'appelle le plagiat.

La contrefaçon et le plagiat

Voici comment le Ministère de la Culture conseille les auteurs qui se sentent volés par la reproduction de leur travail sans leur permission et sans que la reproduction les reconnaisse comme les véritables auteurs:

Questions / Réponses

J'ai constaté une utilisation ou un plagiat de mon oeuvre, que dois-je faire ?

* réponse :
La contrefaçon est une reproduction ou représentation illicite d'une oeuvre.
Si vous constatez une contrefaçon de votre oeuvre, le plus important est de vous constituer une preuve, ce qui peut se faire par tous moyens (achat avec facture, photos, témoignages, articles de presse...).
Vous pouvez également recourir à la procédure de saisie-contrefaçon, qui permet de faire cesser rapidement toute reproduction illicite de votre oeuvre et de rapporter la preuve de vos griefs.
Deux types de procédures de saisie-contrefaçon existent:
- une procédure allégée, dans laquelle la compétence de principe est donnée aux commissaires de police, ou aux juges du tribunal d'instance;
- une procédure normale dans laquelle la compétence est donnée au Président du Tribunal de grande instance, si la décision de faire procéder à la saisie-contrefaçon est susceptible de causer un préjudice important pour le saisi.
Le poursuivant peut être l'auteur, un ayant droit, un cessionnaire ou un organisme de défense professionnelle (société d'auteurs, syndicat professionnel, sur mandant si les statuts le prévoient).
Pour ce type de procédure, il est préférable de s'adresser à un avocat, ce qui est obligatoire dans la procédure civile, devant le Tribunal de grande instance.
La contrefaçon peut donner lieu à des sanctions pénales et à des sanctions civiles (paiement de dommages-intérêts).

Une directive de l'Union européenne oblige les Etats-membres à harmoniser leur législation en matière de droits d'auteur et de droits voisins au plus tard le 22 décembre 2002. Voir Journal officiel des Communautés européennes, L 167, p 10 du 22 juin 2001. Nous allons donc vers une définition européenne de la contrefaçon et du plagiat.

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Pour l'étudiant débutant, il est parfois difficile de distinguer entre l'utilisation légitime d'un ouvrage de référence, le plagiat et la citation.

Voici les exemples que proposait il y a peu l'Université de Teeside* au Royaume-Uni, et qui constituent un bon document pour commencer la réflexion. Des deux exemples proposés, nous n'avons retenu que le premier, extrait d'un ouvrage que les anglicistes de l'Université Paris 13 recommandent aussi:

IS IT PLAGIARISM?.
Here are some examples to illustrate good ways of using someone else's work, and some bad ways, which amount to plagiarism. First of all, there's a choice for you. You can work with two sets of examples. One is relevant to writing an argument essay; the other is relevant to work in the School of Health, and anywhere else where you need to reflect on practice and experience. The first set uses a short paragraph from a history book, E.J. Hobsbawm's Industry and Empire, published in 1968 and reprinted in 1990. The quotation comes from the later edition, so we'll reference that as Hobsbawm 1990. Note that this kind of reference is called a Harvard reference. There are other types of reference, and your Module or Programme Handbook will tell you which type to use. Then after the paragraph from Hobsbawm there are five extracts from students' essays which use the material in different ways. Some of these use the material well; others don't, and are guilty of plagiarism. The second set uses a paragraph from a book on medical issues, R. Gillon's Philosophical Medical Ethics, published in 1985. We'll use the 1995 reprint, Gillon 1995.

HOBSBAWM EXAMPLE ONE
Here's the original:
In fact, after 1870 the food and the eating habits of the British people began to be transformed. They began, for instance, to eat fruit, previously a luxury. To begin with working-class fruit consumption took the form of jam; later also of the novel and imported banana, which supplemented or replaced apples as the only fresh fruit eaten by the urban poor. Even so characteristic a landmark of the British proletarian scene as the fish-and-chip shop first appears in this period. It spread outwards from its original home in, probably, Oldham, after 1870. (Hobsbawm 1990 pp.162-3).
And here's the first example:
Even so characteristic a landmark of the British proletarian scene as the fish-and-chip shop first appears in the period after 1870. Its original home was probably Oldham.
Is it plagiarism?
Yes, it is. This student has mainly just copied Hobsbawm's words. Most importantly, there is no reference to the source.
Can the next one do any better? Go to example 2

HOBSBAWM EXAMPLE TWO
Here's the original again:
In fact, after 1870 the food and the eating habits of the British people began to be transformed. They began, for instance, to eat fruit, previously a luxury. To begin with working-class fruit consumption took the form of the novel and imported banana, which supplemented or replaced apples as the only fresh fruit eaten by the urban poor. Even so characteristic a landmark of the British proletarian scene as the fish-and-chip shop first appears in this period. It spread outwards from its original home in, probably, Oldham, after 1870. (Hobsbawm 1990 pp.162-3).
And here's Example 2:
There were many changes in the British diet in the period after 1870. Fruit became more common, especially in the form of fruit jam. Even the fish-and-chip shop dates from the same period (Hobsbawm 1990 pp.162-3)
Is it plagiarism?
No, it isn't. This student has paraphrased part of Hobsbawm's original accurately, and has included a reference to the source.
And the next contestant please! Example 3

HOBSBAWM EXAMPLE THREE
Here's Hobsbawm again:
In fact, after 1870 the food and the eating habits of the British people began to be transformed. They began, for instance, to eat fruit, previously a luxury. To begin with, working-class fruit consumption took the form of jam; later also of the novel and imported banana, which supplemented or replaced apples as the only fresh fruit eaten by the urban poor. Even so characteristic a landmark of the British proletarian scene as the fish-and-chip shop first appears in this period. It spread outwards from its original home in, probably, Oldham, after 1870. (Hobsbawm 1990 pp.162-3).
And…
There were many changes in the British diet after 1870. Hobsbawm points out that the British people 'began, for instance, to eat fruit, previously a luxury', and goes on to describe other new developments as well. (Hobsbawm 1990 pp.162-3)
Is it plagiarism?
No, it isn't. It's quoting directly, rather than paraphrasing as Example 2 did, but it includes a reference. As long as there's a reference, quoting and paraphrasing are both OK.
And the next for the hotseat is Example 4

HOBSBAWM EXAMPLE FOUR
The original again:
In fact, after 1870 the food and the eating habits of the British people began to be transformed. They began, for instance, to eat fruit, previously a luxury. To begin with, working-class fruit consumption took the form of jam; later also of the novel and imported banana, which supplemented or replaced apples as the only fresh fruit eaten by the urban poor. Even so characteristic a landmark of the British proletarian scene as the fish-and-chip shop first appears in this period. It spread outwards from its original home in, probably, Oldham, after 1870. (Hobsbawm 1990 pp.162-3).
Here's Example 4:
In fact, after 1870 the food and the eating habits of the British people began to be transformed. They began, for instance, to eat fruit, previously a luxury. To begin with, working-class fruit consumption took the form of jam; later also of the novel and imported banana, which supplemented or replaced apples. (Hobsbawm 1990 pp162)
Is it plagiarism?
Yes, it is, though it isn't as bad as Example 1. There is a reference, but there is no attempt to do anything with the material apart from copy it, and it isn't clear whether the words are quoted, paraphrased, or, as here, simply stolen.
Can the next one do any better? Example 5
Hobsbawm example no.

HOBSBAWM EXAMPLE FIVE
The original again:
In fact, after 1870 the food and the eating habits of the British people began to be transformed. They began, for instance, to eat fruit, previously a luxury. To begin with, working-class fruit consumption took the form of jam; later also of the novel and imported banana, which supplemented or replaced apples as the only fresh fruit eaten by the urban poor. Even so characteristic a landmark of the British proletarian scene as the fish-and-chip shop first appears in this period. It spread outwards from its original home in, probably, Oldham, after 1870. (Hobsbawm 1990 pp.162-3).
Here's what number 5 does with it:
The period around and after 1870 saw many changes in British life and culture. Hobsbawm (1990 pp162-3) describes changes and improvements in diet, including an increase in the consumption of fruit and the arrival on the scene of the fish-and-chip shop. Far from being a timeless traditional part of British life, the fish-and-chip shop was a product of these years of change at the end of the nineteenth century. Many aspects of Britain which are sometimes thought to be very old were similar innovations of this period (Colls & Dodd 1987).
Is it plagiarism?
No, it isn't. It has a reference, and an accurate paraphrase. More than that, it uses the Hobsbawm material to start an argument of its own, about supposedly ancient things actually being quite recent. More than that, it has another reference, to show that this essay is the product of wide reading. Example 5 is part of a good essay.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM
As the examples in Is It Plagiarism? showed, you don't avoid plagiarism simply by putting in a reference here and there. This is a bit like thinking you can avoid a charge of libel by writing 'Jones is a crook' and then putting in 'allegedly'. Certainly, you need to put references in your work, but that's not enough on its own. You also need to show that you are using the material, not just trying to get Professor X to write your essay for you. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to be aware of it when you are planning your essay and collecting material for it. When you come across something in a book or an article or on the Internet that you want to use, then either paraphrase it or quote it directly, but write down a note to say whether it's a quote or a paraphrase. Or you might use a different colour pen for a paraphrase, or you might put big brackets round it, or some other method. The point is that you should do a lot of collecting material. As a result, you'll end up with a lot of sheets of paper, all in your own handwriting, and it can be difficult to remember what was your own thoughts and what was a paraphrase of Professor X. If you make a difference at the time you're collecting material, then you won't fall into accidental plagiarism.
The other thing, the thing you must do, is reference. When you make a note, put the reference in then and there, so that you're not hunting round later desperately trying to find which book or article it was that a particular fact or idea came from.

*Cette explication du plagiat a été trouvée le 30 juin 2001 sur: http://lis-lrdtnt1.tees.ac.uk/DISSC/Plagiarism/page3.html
En septembre 2001, cette adresse ne débouche plus sur rien. D'où une leçon à en tirer: toute référence à un document trouvé sur internet doit être accompagnée de la date à laquelle vous avez effectué la trouvaille. D'une façon générale, pour savoir comment présenter vos références, consultez les recommandations faites aux étudiants de Master.

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Il y a trois raisons fondamentales qui, dans le monde universitaire, ou dans le monde de la recherche en général dans quelque pays que ce soit, exigent que toute citation, tout emprunt, toute inspiration même soit reconnue. Chacune se suffit.

1. Des raisons éthiques:
Il est tout simplement malhonnête de s'approprier la parenté de quelque chose qu'on a trouvé chez un ou une autre. Voir plus haut.

2. Des raisons scientifiques:
A la lecture d'un travail de recherche ou d'un travail universitaire en général, le lecteur doit à tout instant pouvoir vérifier par lui-même ce qu'avance l'auteur. En sciences humaines et sociales, cela signifie avoir la possibilité de retourner aux sources.

3. Des raisons pédagogiques, scientifiques et sociales à la fois:
Un travail universitaire doit servir de support à d'autres travaux, d'étudiants ou de chercheurs, et donc leur faciliter la découverte des sources utilisées pour conduire d'autres travaux, sur d'autres aspects ou avec une interprétation différente. Sinon, chaque travail sur une même question repart à zéro et la connaissance n'avance pas.

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Et si vous-même avez créé quelque chose, pour vous protéger du plagiat et de la contrefaçon, voyez le site de l'APCE et celui du Ministère de la Culture.

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