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Famous Cases of Alleged Plagiarism

As our article on plagiarism shows, there are many reasons why someone might neglect to attribute someone else's work in their own. On this page, we look at some famous cases of plagiarism, and ask the key question - guilty or innocent?

The Case: Paperchase vs. @HiddenEloise

Paperchase is one of the world's leading gift card producers. They can probably afford the basics, like hiring artists and designers.

However, in February 2010 they were accused of 'borrowing' artwork from a Twitter user. The offending products were available in stores and on sites such as Amazon.

The Verdict: So far, Paperchase seems to be unwilling to discuss the matter. Time will tell if a surge of support for @HiddenEloise on Twitter makes the company take note.

The Case: Harlan Ellison vs. James Cameron

James Cameron's film 'The Terminator' (1984) was a massive success, taking almost $80m worldwide on a budget of less than $10m - yes, back in the 80's, $80m was counted as a success!

Unfortunately, sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison claimed that the film's plot - in which a cyborg travels back in time to kill a future resistance leader - was heavily based on two scripts he wrote for 60's anthology TV show 'The Outer Limits'.

The Verdict: An agreement was reached. Ellison received a credit on subsequent re-issues of the film, as well as a cash settlement.

The Case: John Barrie vs. Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter is a well-known, and incredibly popular, conservative commentator in the United States. Her controversial views have won her millions of fans, partly because she never tries to dress her comments up as being impartial.

In 2006, a US newspaper reported the views of an academic who had run one of Coulter's books through a plagiarism scanner. The academic, John Barrie, claimed that the result showed "textbook plagiarism" of intellectual property.

The Verdict: Coulter denied the claims. Her syndication agent examined the case, and decided she'd done nothing wrong. No lawsuit was ever brought against Coulter.

The Case: Damon Lloyd Goffe vs. Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is the multi-millionaire host of one of America's top TV talks shows. Damon Lloyd Goffe is the author of a poetry collection, 'A Tome of Poetry'. In 2009, Goffe sued Winfrey for... $1 trillion!!!

It seems Goffe felt Winfrey's internet-published 'Pieces of My Soul' had included some of his own work, without attribution. Winfrey strongly denied the claim, and in September 2009 the case was dismissed by a US judge.

The Verdict: Goffe's book is hard to track down, and perhaps surprisingly, so is Winfrey's. Since the case has been dismissed, it seems Goffe is unlikely to get to pick up the $1 trillion any time soon.

The Case: Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay

Coldplay's 2008 album 'Viva La Vida, or Death and All His Friends' was a huge success, selling more than 8m copies worldwide.

Unfortunately for the band, a number of other musicians claimed they could hear echoes of their own work in particular tracks. Joe Satriani, in particular, claimed there were substantial similarities between the title track and his own 'If I Could Fly'.

The Verdict: Coldplay denied the accusations. In September 2009, it was reported that an out of court settlement had been reached, the terms of which have not been officially disclosed.

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