Here is a short list of real-life examples of plagiarism. Don't make their mistake.
Michael Bolton claimed the song "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" - originally published by the Isley Brothers - as his own.
Can you hear the differences?
Doris Kearns Goodwin is an author and historian. She is well-known for writing biographies about former US presidents like Lyndon B Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. One of those well-known biographies was titled The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, which is about former President John F Kennedy's family history. However, The Weekly Standard received a report that Goodwin copied material for this book from three other books on the lives of Rose Kennedy (JFK's mother), Kathleen Kennedy (JFK's sister), and Joe Kennedy (JFK's brother) -- See their report below. After coming under fire for it, Goodwin resigned from her position on the Pulitzer Prize Board.
A Historian and Her Sources - The Weekly Standard, (18 January 2002).
The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys by George Harrison's song "My Sweet Lord" used the same music (not lyrics) as in "He's So Fine," a song by the group The Chiffons.
Can you hear the similarities?
Kaavya Viswanathan published a Young Adult book (How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life) while she was a student at Harvard. It became popular very quickly, even landing her a two-book contract with the publisher and a movie deal with Dreamworks Pictures. However, it was discovered that many passages from her book were found in other Young Adult novels by authors Megan McCafferty, Salman Rushdie, Meg Cabot, and Sophie Kinsella. Kaavya claimed it was "unconscious and unintentional." Unfortunately, both the book contract and movie deal were subsequently cancelled, and her book was rescinded from bookstores.
"Opal Mehta" Gone for Good; Contract Cancelled - Harvard Crimson, (02 May 2006).
Examples of Similar Passages Between Viswanathan's Book and McCafferty's Two Novels - Harvard Crimson, (23 April 2006).
