Calls for ‘Anti-Plagiarism Day’ after Chinese author controversy
A Chinese research institute wants to mark December 31 as Anti-Plagiarism Day, after a controversy involving an author and screenwriter.
Local media reported on January 1 that Guo Jingming, a young adult fiction writer, and screenwriter Yu Zheng had apologised for separate incidents of plagiarism.
Guo had been accused of plagiarising fellow author Zhuang Yu for bestselling book “Never-Flower in Never-Dream”, while Yu admitted to copying others’ work for the television series “Palace 3: The Lost Daughter”.
Yu publicly apologised to Taiwanese author Qiong Yao on December 30, almost 20 years after the publication of Qiong’s novel “Plum Blossom Scar”.
“It’s not that I was unwilling to admit my mistake, but that I had no courage to say sorry,” Yu said, adding: “I hope my experience will be a warning to every creator. Respect the original works and respect the law.”
Guo, meanwhile, said: “I’m sorry that I have been a very bad example. Please learn the lesson from me. Refuse plagiarism and respect creative writing.”
The author also offered all revenues from sales of “Never-Flower in Never-Dream” to Zhuang, the South China Morning Post reported.
In the wake of the controversy, the China Management Science Society (CMSS) proposed to institute an official Anti-Plagiarism Day.
In the cases of both Guo and Yu, Chinese courts had ruled in favour of the plagiarised artists before an apology was finally issued.
“Although [China’s] legislation and enforcement of intellectual property rights are constantly improving, plagiarism and plagiarism are still common, even when the court has issued a clear judgment,” a translated statement from CMSS said.
“This is extremely detrimental to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of original authors and developing the diversity of my country's cultural and creative industries,” it continued.
China has targeted copyright infringement as part of a wide-ranging reform of its IP laws and crackdown on violations.
Last month, the government approved legislative amendments requiring alleged infringers to prove they obtained permission to use copyright-protected works.
Authorities also launched the Sword Net operation last April, which highlighted “paraphrasing plagiarism” and illegal activities by image agencies.
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