Copyright, in legal terms, is the exclusive right to use an original work. Copyright can be in music, paintings, photographs, designs, computer programs, writing etc. The copyright is usually owned by the creator of the original work until he/she sells or assigns it to another party.
There is no copyright in titles, but authors must beware of being accused of ‘passing off’ if they use a well-known title. Names are not copyright either, but if you called your agent ‘James Bond’ you could again be sued for ‘passing off’, and the same hold true for the name of the author as well, i.e., if your name happens to be Thomas Hardy, and you publish a novel under that name, you might find yourself in trouble. ‘Passing off’ is the legal term for using a celebrated title, character’s or author’s name to persuade someone to buy your work in the belief that it was the famous book, or about the famous character, or by the famous author.
There is also on copyright in ideas or themes, or in basic plots. Two writers can have the same idea but convert it in different ways into their own work. Nor is there copyright in facts. There is copyright in the material form in which the idea, plot or facts have been written. After research is done for articles or a book, you must put the material used in your own words. Do not copy other people’s work. Try to rephrase the sentences or reconstruct them differently.
Plagiarism is presenting another author’s ideas or writing as your own, including quoting directly from his/her work without acknowledging the original authorship. However, it is not plagiarism when you rework an idea and add your own thoughts and research and wordings to describe it. You are then not pretending that another’s work is your own.
If you have copied another author’s work without permission, you are guilty of breaching his/her copyright and can be sued for doing so. Be careful with quotations. However, you can quote from another author’s work without permission if you are reviewing that work. The only way around this legal problem is to quote from authors whose work is no longer in copyright, i.e, those who died more than 70 years ago. When work is out of copyright it is said to be in the public domain. It is safe to quote from Shakespeare, or Dickens.
There are legal and moral restraints on stealing a fellow author’s work, which you should respect. Lastly, there is a more practical restraint. If editors suspect you to be guilty of plagiarism, they would blacklist you and never touch your work again.
Finally, you can tell the owner of the copyright from the imprint on the published material. This is the copyright symbol © followed by the name of the owner and the year the copyright started. The copyright starts from when a piece is created, although the copyright date shown in published material is usually the date when the material was first published, not when it was written.