| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Sticky wicket: My author seems to have lifted 75% of his book from English language sources! Thread poster: wordgirl
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| Contact the author | Jul 22, 2011 |
I heard of a similar case earlier this year. It turned out, if I recall correctly, that the author named (an academic) had actually delegated the work to some students, and I think there was ultimately something of a rethink on the whole shooting match. Although I think it might have been an academic paper, not a book already available in the shops, as it were.
Anyway, the key point is that the author was contacted immediately - your outcome may differ, naturally. Not a task I'd rel... See more I heard of a similar case earlier this year. It turned out, if I recall correctly, that the author named (an academic) had actually delegated the work to some students, and I think there was ultimately something of a rethink on the whole shooting match. Although I think it might have been an academic paper, not a book already available in the shops, as it were.
Anyway, the key point is that the author was contacted immediately - your outcome may differ, naturally. Not a task I'd relish, but the possibility that the author may not have personally carried out the plagarism and may actually be unaware of it might make the task earlier.
If the author refuses to offer any constructive suggestion (including extra payment for extra work), one option could be to:
a) copy/paste the original English source into your translation (charge less to highlight just how much this translation is NOT your work; not a translation as much as research work)
and
b) contact the owners of the webistes this stuff has been taken from to let them know what is going on.
Or you could just walk away, of course.
I'm not sure which of those two I would do, if the author failed to engage with the issue. Have to hope he/she does!
[Edited at 2011-07-22 12:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | mitko999
Local time: 07:21
English to Bulgarian
+ ...
| Italian(?) publisher in trouble for copyright infringement? | Jul 22, 2011 |
There is plagiarism, which is an academic issue, then there is copyright infringement, which is enforced by the courts.
The Italian(?) publisher of the plagiarised book may sooner or later be in a lot of trouble - even more so if the copyright of the online texts belongs to another commercial organisation. The book reviewers and editor(s) should (and probably would) also be blamed for not spotting the copyright infringement (if that's the case). Imagine a court case where they say: ... See more There is plagiarism, which is an academic issue, then there is copyright infringement, which is enforced by the courts.
The Italian(?) publisher of the plagiarised book may sooner or later be in a lot of trouble - even more so if the copyright of the online texts belongs to another commercial organisation. The book reviewers and editor(s) should (and probably would) also be blamed for not spotting the copyright infringement (if that's the case). Imagine a court case where they say: "It was not easy/obvious to spot that it was someone else's work - look, even the translator, who had to go through it word by word, and possibly consulted the sources on the right terminology, did not notice it." Would you feel comfortable going there and saying that you did not see it, or that you did, but did not think it was important, or that you wanted to respect your client's privacy? After all, you are not a lawyer or a doctor, or a priest...
One would be very tempted to go to this chap and say: "What were you thinking?" I can imagine special cases, when one quotes long parts of existing legislation, etc., but without a clear indication that this is a verbatim quote, this is still not OK academically or (in my lay opinion) from a legal point of view. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jeff Whittaker 
United States
Local time: 02:21
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Book translation | Jul 22, 2011 |
The question is, why would the author, who obviously knows he "copied" most of the book (whether he engaged in deliberate plagiarism or he genuinely believes it is ok to translate something and call it his own) pay someone else to then "translate" it back into English when he clearly has access to the English text himself? The only possible answer is that he wants you to come up with "new" version of the text to fool the publisher (or out of fear the publisher will find its own translator and ca... See more The question is, why would the author, who obviously knows he "copied" most of the book (whether he engaged in deliberate plagiarism or he genuinely believes it is ok to translate something and call it his own) pay someone else to then "translate" it back into English when he clearly has access to the English text himself? The only possible answer is that he wants you to come up with "new" version of the text to fool the publisher (or out of fear the publisher will find its own translator and catch him in the act).
At any rate, he is involving you in fraud and you have to turn the work down. He cannot be unaware of the situation, so he will be embarrassed (perhaps), but not surprised.
[Edited at 2011-07-22 13:43 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 08:21
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Sounds like plagiarism disguised as translation job. In this case, you should first be compensated for your time thus far, then it should be reported to relevant bodies.
Actually, both you and the author should report this person, you are both victims.
Yes, references are allowed in academic writing, but clearly cited, and citations are only short, not entire chapters.
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| Unethical and unprofessional to collude | Jul 22, 2011 |
wordgirl wrote:
....The problem is that I really like this person and his work, generally (if not this particular one!).
wg
wordgirl wrote:
But it really gets my goat that I have to step in and play policeman. sheesh!
wg
Regarding those two comments:
1. I've occasionally been in a similiar situation although not to the same extent, also with direct clients. I've always stopped work and consulted them. I try to do it nicely but firmly. Most of them have been willing to work round a solution, some were grateful, none were offended. Sadly, in your case, it looks like there is no solution, plagiarism is just as much about words as ideas, so there's no workaround.
2. It's not about policing, it's plagiarism so it's a question of professional ethics - not to collude in what you know to be an unethical practice.
| | | | Jaroslaw Michalak
Poland
Local time: 08:21
Member (2004)
English to Polish
SITE LOCALIZER | Charming thief? | Jul 22, 2011 |
wordgirl wrote:
The problem is that I really like this person and his work, generally (if not this particular one!).
He might be nice, but he is a fraud nonetheless... He perfectly well knew what he was doing - 75% (and that's how much you found out!) means you cannot really call him an author!
And for the rest of his work... How can you be sure it was not picked from sources which simply were a bit harder to find?
| | | | invguy
Bulgaria
Local time: 09:21
English to Bulgarian
| Set this straight – now | Jul 23, 2011 |
A few questions:
1) Are you sure that the author doesn't have some kind of arrangement with the owners of the websites that contain parts of the book?
2) Isn't it possible that the author him/herself previously wrote – or in another way contributed to the writing of – those texts (or some of them) for the owners of the websites, therefore s/he owns certain author's rights? (which might, or might not be sufficient to allow legal use of the texts – but that's a separate i... See more A few questions:
1) Are you sure that the author doesn't have some kind of arrangement with the owners of the websites that contain parts of the book?
2) Isn't it possible that the author him/herself previously wrote – or in another way contributed to the writing of – those texts (or some of them) for the owners of the websites, therefore s/he owns certain author's rights? (which might, or might not be sufficient to allow legal use of the texts – but that's a separate issue)
3) Isn't it possible that the texts published online are in fact translations from the book (which, as you say, has already been published in the original language)? Or that they are copied from previous publications of the author that the book is actually based on?
Of course, if the author was aware that chapters of the book were available online in English, it would be most natural to provide you with the relevant links in order to facilitate your work – or at least to cut down their translation expenses But is s/he actually aware of this? Funny as it might be, there still exist old-school characters, even among science and technology experts, whose Internet skills are definitely not their strong side.
What I'm trying to say is that, no matter how dramatic things may seem, they might still have a simple explanation (and I sincerely wish you so). It is true, though, that the situation does look like a potential ticking bomb that you are sitting on. It might not go off now but in years – which might be even worse because then you might have a lot more to lose.
Given all this, if I were you, I'd immediately face the problem directly by informing the author of my findings. Not with reproach or suspicion, just information, plus the inevitable question how to proceed. They'd have only two options: either to give you a reasonable explanation or to request directly that you become an accomplice. Then it would be much easier for you to decide what to do.
If everything is legal, you may get permission to use the translated chapters and charge only for editing them. That would reduce your fee but would leave you with more free time for other projects. If the author knows about the translation on those websites but doesn't trust them for some reason, an exchange of opinions between you would be mutually beneficial.
As for the risk of not being paid for the work done so far, I'd say it's negligible: you are in a power position, as you may decide to alert the publishing house or anyone else concerned. (Of course, I presume you have a contract or work order plus sufficient evidence in terms of mail exchange and files to prove that this specific material was sent to you for translation by the author in question.)
So I'd say – go ahead and set this straight. There's not much to lose but you'll certainly gain something quite important: your peaceful sleep
________________
P.S. As for the idea to delete this thread, I'd disagree. Firstly, no one can be positively identified basing on the provided information, the discussion is only in principle. Secondly, plagiarism is quite a frequent phenomenon so I believe the expressed opinions (or even only the occasion to consider the issue) are useful for all readers. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Finish work?! | Jul 24, 2011 |
Daniel Grau wrote:
I would say: first finish your work, get paid and then bring the issue up as your conscience dictates.
You mean she should switch her conscience on after getting paid? First profit from what the "author" has done, then give him away?
What kind of conscience would that be?
I am a bit shocked.
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Tracy Miyake
Brazil
Local time: 03:21
Member (2014)
Portuguese to English
| how did this all pan out? | Sep 1, 2011 |
I am curious.... I've been a lurker here for a while, and in exploring the forums, was surprised to see this thread- the same thing happened to me last year when I was working on a text-- maybe not 75% but at least 50%, from multiple and diverse sources. In my case (without the benefit of much counsel except a fellow translator here) I immediately called the author, more innocent than accusatory. "XX, you can't believe what I found when I was doing research on some of the terms in the translat... See more I am curious.... I've been a lurker here for a while, and in exploring the forums, was surprised to see this thread- the same thing happened to me last year when I was working on a text-- maybe not 75% but at least 50%, from multiple and diverse sources. In my case (without the benefit of much counsel except a fellow translator here) I immediately called the author, more innocent than accusatory. "XX, you can't believe what I found when I was doing research on some of the terms in the translation!!" He also claimed innocence. Whether his innocence was real or not (and none of my business either way, I suppose), he ended up making large and significant changes to the text, removing all the offending parts, to my immense relief. I got paid, the text has recently been purchased by a publishing house, and all's well that ends well.
I hope your story had the same happy ending!! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | similar situation | Sep 4, 2011 |
I recently translated the certification process for an industrial autoclave from Port-ENG. This was a long list of ISO EN-XXX type standards requirements and the client's response to same with respect to conformity.
I am an engineer so I looked up the EN standards numbers on the web and found that some kind soul had placed the entire original ISO standards requirements documents on the web.
So rather than do a back translation, considering that the Portuguese had origi... See more I recently translated the certification process for an industrial autoclave from Port-ENG. This was a long list of ISO EN-XXX type standards requirements and the client's response to same with respect to conformity.
I am an engineer so I looked up the EN standards numbers on the web and found that some kind soul had placed the entire original ISO standards requirements documents on the web.
So rather than do a back translation, considering that the Portuguese had originally been translated from these same EN documents, I used them and copied and pasted. I informed the agency of what I was doing and why and told them that by using the original documents from which the Portuguese had been taken, that I was able to give them a far better product than if I had done a backtranslation.
They were very happy when I was finally able to explain the situation and why I was turning in documents in a timeframe that would only have been possible if 3 translators were doing the document and they did not reduce my rate at all, stating that as I was taking responsibility for the project, that would be fine.
Sometimes it pays to do this. Just saying ▲ Collapse
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