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Home“I randomly picked a Weibo message I just wrote and searched to find unexpectedly that there were 195 people who had copied it to their Weibo without attribution!” Kaifu Lee, CEO of Innovation Works, wrote in his Weibo earlier this month.
He showed the link and screenshot image of the search result on his Weibo. The latest search showed the number had increased to 219, which means more Weibo users are still copying his words.
Lee’s actions follow those of Zheng Yuanjie, writer of children’s literature and dubbed “King of Fairy Tales” in the country, who complained his Weibo was plagiarized by a user named Fangyu007 without even any change in punctuation.
Fangyu007 pasted the same content and the picture in his Weibo and just deleted the last sentence when copying from Zheng.
“I beg you to spare some time to change at least the punctuation. Though it came from news, the final content needs an angle, judgment and arrangement for the words – a kind of creation – Zheng said.
Zheng emphasized the user who copied his Weibo is a “V user,” who was certificated by Sina as a real-name user. Fangyu007 has about 2,700 followers on Sina Weibo. The item copied from Zheng was forwarded more than 23,000 times and got about 6,000 comments. On average, his Weibo would usually be forwarded just a few dozen times and receive a couple of comments.
Weibo users hold different views about this issue. Some said “we use it because we value you,” and some pointed out that many who forwarded the message were only machines. It is said many Weibo users are not real people, but are created by the supplier for other usage, including selling to those who want to increase followers and site visitors.
We should value all original works
Plagiarism is ugly
“Works”?
One has the copyright of works that feature creative expression or are related to his intellectual efforts. Not all words, like several sentences, are recognized as “works.” Therefore, the first thing is to judge whether the 140-word Weibo message could be considered as “works.” If the user copied a message for commercial use, people could resort to law. Usually, people will consider the cost, process and effect before starting a lawsuit. So it is still not desirable to use the law to deal with the Weibo issue. Personally, I suggest the Weibo supplier could correct or ban such things technically. Meanwhile, it should strengthen education in netizens in order to enhance their awareness of respecting others’ works.
– Xu Xinming, lawyer, Beijing Mingtai Law Firm
We should value all original works
Weibo users could forward the message by regular ways instead of taking others’ as their own original work. If they quote, they should offer the origin; otherwise it is a breach of tort law. No matter how long or how short, it is original and should be protected. People should go against the tort, or at least condemn the behavior. It is a copy-and-paste era, especially online. Since each user is independent, it is hard for the Weibo supplier to check all content. Therefore, the most important thing is to cultivate netizens’ consciousness to value original works.
– Zred, photographer
Copycats never win
I don’t take Weibo seriously. I seldom forward others’ but write my own stuff. If others copy mine, it is only after what I wrote, that is to say, they will always be second. People will know who really wrote interesting things and finally will follow me, not them. Also, celebrities can get many people to comment. If an unknown person copies the content, it does not have the same effect. People who are good at creating an original Weibo always write more, and those copycats can get one or two, but not all of them all the time.
– XY Chen, screenwriter
Plagiarism is ugly
Many people hold that it is no big deal to copy a Weibo message, but actually it reflects a very bad habit in the country. In the legal system, people should defend their copyright and original works. Online, netizens should respect others works and keep self-discipline. Plagiarism is ugly, no matter where or when or in whatever situation.
– boreyz, Weibo user
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