Likelihood of Screenplay Theft

J

JonathanLB

Carbonite Member
Ok, so now the more I read, the more thoroughly confused I am, not the more informed. Previously, I had read numerous books and articles that said if you're seriously worried about your screenplay being ripped off and your ideas stolen, you are probably an amateur because in reality it rarely happens. The argument was that it's much easier and less dangerous for a producer to option your screenplay rather than pay someone else to write one based on yours and possibly get sued later.

Now I am reading another book that's quite good about indie filmmaking, and the chapter on screenplay theft basically says it happens constantly, there's little you can do to prove copyright infringement, and pretty much you're screwed. This guy admits he has been ripped off before (but lost a case), so I wonder if it's just sour grapes, but the way he puts it, even if your screenplay is registered, it won't matter, because short of outright theft, someone else could take your best scenes, take your idea, and rewrite it and it'd be very tough to prove in court that they specifically had access to your screenplay and wrote their own based on yours. Apparently most copyright infringement cases are dropped before they ever get to court. All of what he says about that makes sense, and I think it's true because you can't copyright an idea, only the unique expression of an idea.

But the way he makes it sound, you should never send your script to any contests because they mostly all require you to sign some sort of waiver, which is bad legal practice because you don't want to waive any of your rights (that part I agree with, but if they have something like that and are a reputable screenplay contest, eventually what are you going to do with your script? You have to send it somewhere). He was even saying it's risky sending it to agents, to anyone, essentially.

My question: How worried should I really be about that? What is the best thing to do with an unproduced screenplay that I can't afford to finance currently? I registered my first script with the copyright office two days ago, and I'm producing it myself, so I don't really care about sending it out because nobody can beat me to the punch anyway. I shoot in 6 months. The second script, though, will need financing at some point or need to be sold, and now I'm all paranoid about it because it's my best script.
 
I have wondered the same thing. I mean, if (and this is a big if) I had a very high concept original story, would I want to risk running it by others in the business outside of my close circle of trusted friends, until it was at least written and copyrighted? I would like to think nobody would take the story concept and run with it, but then considering how rare truly interesting twists on story ideas are... maybe not worth the risk. I know there are no truly original stories, but that is a bit of hyperbole imho; there are certainly original twists that are high concept and valuable and hard to come up with. Once a screenplay is written and registered of course, one has to get it out there to all in the business, at least to agents and prodcos, I would think.
 
Always copyright your work.

It's pretty simple: when in doubt, be safe (copyright), when you feel you're already safe, be extra safe and (copyright) even though it may seem silly. A good reason to copyright your work is so you can find a legal safe haven. Copyrighting one's work should provide rest from worries so you can focus on being productive.

Hopefully this question is finally resolved. ;-)
 
I once posted an idea on a Film Website (Years and years ago) about a Werewolf story I wanted to do.

Part of what I posted mentioned 3 guys on a road trip hitting a deer in the middle of the night; they end up dressing up the deer with hats, sunglasses etc .... then the deer takes off; it wasn't dead

The keys to their car are in the jacket the deer had on

so they go on foot, etc etc etc only to meet their fate with an escaped wolf man that grave robbers let loose from the mortuary

Anyways ......

Then a couple years later, I see this KANGAROO movie where they do the same thing

Not a critical plot point mind you, but still. My idea was from my ex wifes brother whose friends actually did this with a deer

I guess my point is ......

Beware ?
 
I think the issue of registering a screenplay is a settled issue, a no-brainer. Call me paranoid, but the real question is who do you share your story idea with prior to registering a finished screenplay-- for me, I would want to keep my sharing network small, close friends, perhaps a trusted mentor. Because of the time that passes between a beat sheet, or sequence, or treatment, and spitting out a first draft and the many rewrites to get to the promised land. And in the meantime who might take the idea and perhaps pilfer it intentionally, or even unintentionally mention the story idea to a group of people (such as a screen consultant sharing the story idea at a workshop, etc, then who knows the fate of the story idea, what ears it falls onto).
 
I would not ever ever ever post an idea on a website, this or any other, at least not for a feature film idea. Open to six billion people to see, many from all sorts of countries without any regard for US Copyright Law. And then the idea is permanently floating around the web on search engines, etc.
 
I used to think that theft was a myth since most screenplays are terrible, but when you become the next hot thing, everyone's going to do what they can to get a piece of that.

I heard a horror story once of a guy who met with some producers to sell his screenplay and didn't have it registered/copyrighted/etc. They told the writer they weren't interested and what did they do behind his back after he left? They stole the idea, changed the title, etc.

I would register/copyright anything that I have the intention of selling and shooting. As for sharing it out, it's a risk you gotta take. My friends said my first screenplay was too terrible to get stolen anyways. :P
 
That's the problem, ideas can't be copyrighted, and they tend to be the most 'stealable' thing we deal with. It's easy to copyright a whole script, but that's the least likely thing for anyone to steal.

And ideas frequently aren't as original as we'd like to think. I had the exact same idea as the Heroes TV series, years before that appeared on TV. I wrote it as a short story and never could sell it. Do i think the TV people somehow read my story and stole it? No, I honestly don't. Someone's trying to sue James Cameron for 'stealing' the Avatar idea - apparently unaware that 'alien avatar' stories have been appearing in science fiction literature for at least 50 years. :) Tere's nothing original about 'kid goes to wizard school', but J K Rowling did pretty well out of it and I don't think she 'stole' anything.
 
JonathanLB said:
Ok, so now the more I read, the more thoroughly confused I am, not the more informed. Previously, I had read numerous books and articles that said if you're seriously worried about your screenplay being ripped off and your ideas stolen, you are probably an amateur because in reality it rarely happens. The argument was that it's much easier and less dangerous for a producer to option your screenplay rather than pay someone else to write one based on yours and possibly get sued later.

Now I am reading another book that's quite good about indie filmmaking, and the chapter on screenplay theft basically says it happens constantly, there's little you can do to prove copyright infringement, and pretty much you're screwed. This guy admits he has been ripped off before (but lost a case), so I wonder if it's just sour grapes, but the way he puts it, even if your screenplay is registered, it won't matter, because short of outright theft, someone else could take your best scenes, take your idea, and rewrite it and it'd be very tough to prove in court that they specifically had access to your screenplay and wrote their own based on yours. Apparently most copyright infringement cases are dropped before they ever get to court. All of what he says about that makes sense, and I think it's true because you can't copyright an idea, only the unique expression of an idea.

But the way he makes it sound, you should never send your script to any contests because they mostly all require you to sign some sort of waiver, which is bad legal practice because you don't want to waive any of your rights (that part I agree with, but if they have something like that and are a reputable screenplay contest, eventually what are you going to do with your script? You have to send it somewhere). He was even saying it's risky sending it to agents, to anyone, essentially.

My question: How worried should I really be about that? What is the best thing to do with an unproduced screenplay that I can't afford to finance currently? I registered my first script with the copyright office two days ago, and I'm producing it myself, so I don't really care about sending it out because nobody can beat me to the punch anyway. I shoot in 6 months. The second script, though, will need financing at some point or need to be sold, and now I'm all paranoid about it because it's my best script.
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It's not usually Production Companies that you have to worry about stealing. It's not worth the risk (or rather the irritation) for the Major Studioes really. The price they would have to pay for a newbies script wouldn't cover the room expenses of the average exec at Cannes.

It's other writers and people at the bottom rung of companies, like readers etc.

However, clearly even the biggest companies steal ideas to some degree: Look at how they sometimes make the same kind of film. Deep Impact/Armageddon or Finding Nemo/Shark Tale.

I've heard it said (allegedlly) that the BBC are notorious for ripping off ideas. You send in your project, a reader looks at it, likes it, then sticks it in a drawer, changes it and presents it himself to his superiors. The temptation must be quite large when you think about it. The gatekeepers who first check the scripts are there to further their careers at the end of the day.

But it's the price you have to pay. You have to make sure that you have a number of scripts to pitch, you may get work based on the consistent quality of your output rather than selling the script itself.

Ultimately if you don't share what you have with people, what do you have? You can't build a reputation unless you share your work.

There is no doubt that it can happen though and the temptation can be strong. I've had work stolen that I posted on the internet for feedback.
 
The only thing that I've heard stands up in court is if entire lines of dialogue are stolen. Then the copyright holder with the copyright office records in hand may win the case. Cases are backed up five years in LA. Keep that in mind too.

So what do I do? I don't write scripts. My favorite movie is Fellini's 8&1/2 -- director without a script.LOL

Even when I audition actors, I use other scripts. One consideration is hold back the dialogue. Show scripts with description only -- that is if you're producing them yourself.

Give to actors only their scenes -- unless you're dealing with an established actor and they demand to see the whole screenplay:) then it's your call; I have no suggestions.

When you get famous they won't steal your scripts; until then don't submit your precious lines to anybody. If you're a writer, that's different. You might consider getting some script review expert advise you on the script -- pay the fee, it's worth it; there's your expert witness.

The best copyright protection for indie filmmakers? Shoot your own script. Once it's a movie they can't copy it -- verbatim.

Another thing is that 80% of the major studio movies are flops; only 2% make a huge profit, the other 18% barely cover their production expenses. So let them steal your script. You'll probably have the last laugh.

Nine is stolen from my story idea: Fellini Directs Again! They spent $64,000,000. Beautiful movie; you should see the stars in the movie. It bombed! I'm going to do it right as a no-budget movie and laugh all the way to the bank (conveniently located in my local grocery store -- hey, times are hard, ok?) LOL
 
Yeah

Yeah

I have to agree with filmman here. The best way seems to be just to shoot the darn thing. But if I do that, then I'm not even trying to make it as a screenwriter yet (I guess), I'm basically just writing content for myself, so that limits what I can write.

My 2nd script is not a really low budget project. I mean being honest, I think to do it well you're looking at $5-8 million, an unreasonable sum for an indie project unless you can get some serious capital investment. Maybe it would be a great 3rd film if I really made it, LOL, but other than that I just don't see being able to do it any justice on less than that. Who knows, though...
 
JonathanLB said:
I have to agree with filmman here. The best way seems to be just to shoot the darn thing. But if I do that, then I'm not even trying to make it as a screenwriter yet (I guess), I'm basically just writing content for myself, so that limits what I can write.

My 2nd script is not a really low budget project. I mean being honest, I think to do it well you're looking at $5-8 million, an unreasonable sum for an indie project unless you can get some serious capital investment. Maybe it would be a great 3rd film if I really made it, LOL, but other than that I just don't see being able to do it any justice on less than that. Who knows, though...
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Maybe just put that script aside and write another lower budget movie? If your lower budget film is a hit, you'll have companies throwing money at you to make your high budget movie! :cheesy:
 
Yeah, unfortunately there is some risk involved for those pursuing a screenwriting career since we do have to show our work to the people that actually put up the money for a film to be produced.

Another thing that helps is if the spec script is written really really well. Basically, the days of relying on a great high concept idea are over because that high concept idea is tempting for a producer or studio exec to steal if the actual execution of the script sucks. They look at it from the perspective that they'll have to hire someone else to come in and clean up the script anyway. Now if the original writer, no matter whether they are established yet or not, writes an amazing script then it is so much easier for the studio to just buy the script from the writer. It just makes sense to do that instead of stealing the concept and being forced to jump through all kinds of hoops trying to develop a completely new script from the core concept.

Also, Hollywood rarely develops original material anymore anyways. Really the best we can hope for is to wow them enough with our spec scripts so that they then hire us to adapt something that fits our interests.

For example, let's say a writer creates a spec about intergalactic exterminators dealing with a strain of rather nasty giant alien insects. Some exec or producer at 20th Century Fox reads it and loves it. A little light bulb goes off in the exec's head. They then call the writer in for a meeting and ask them to pitch their take on an Alien sequel. Yay!!! Good news for the aspiring scribe. Of course, there is the competition of a ton of other writers all pitching their take on the Alien sequel as well. Some of these other writers are more established, more experienced, and have many more industry connections than the lowly young scribe does.

That is the reality.

It sucks that original work is not as sought after for production as it was back in the day, but them's the breaks.

The only thing that could give the intergalactic exterminators a chance would be if the script could be made on the cheap and marketed primarily as horror. Sort of like Lionsgate and their SAW franchise which is low budget, high concept, made for next to nothing, and launched only because the first film was a sleeper hit.

So it really isn't' in a development exec's best interest to steal anything that is already really great when the studio they work for won't want to make it anyways due to the financial risk. Look at Avatar. Besides affordable comedies and horror flicks, you pretty much have to be James Cameron to make a Hollywood scale movie with much of an original story these days. Even the few "original" films that sneak through every once in a while are usually still pretty conventional. Now before anybody says Neill Blomkamp and District 9, let's not kid ourselves into downplaying the fact that District 9 would most likely not exist if he didn't have a 500 pound gorilla (Peter Jackson, not King Kong) in his corner. Not to say Blomkamp isn't talented and wouldn't have eventually made it. He's very talented indeed.
 
RockmanX3 said:
Maybe just put that script aside and write another lower budget movie? If your lower budget film is a hit, you'll have companies throwing money at you to make your high budget movie! :cheesy:
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Not a bad idea if he has something else to make on a low budget, but it is very hard to just throw a script aside that you feel passionate about. Nothing ever gets made with the "wait until my indie storms Sundance" attitude. We can't really assume that anyone will be throwing money at us not matter how awesome our indie film is, nor how much money it makes.

I bet you that Warner Bros. fought a hard battle to get Christopher Nolan to not do Inception as his next big film. Besides another Batman film, I bet they probably tried to convince him to do tons of other projects based on intellectual properties they owned the film rights to. Properties with a pre-built audience that combined with the words FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE DARK KNIGHT, would be a sure fire box office bazooka blast straight through the vault of the bank.

After passing numerous times on Avatar, 20th Century Fox finally green-lit it merely because they knew they'd be jealous if another studio put up the money for James Cameron to make it. Say it with me again folks, a $300 million dollar budget (not including marketing) was approved, in the end over the type of feelings you would expect that chick from the Twilight films to be rambling on about. It boggles the mind.

The bottom line is that Hollywood works in weird and mysterious ways, sometimes wonderful, yet often times just plain perplexing and frustrating. All we can do is continue to kick and kick until we get our foot through the door of the gatekeepers, whose offices are in a building where the laws of physics have rewritten themselves.

Don't forget, there's always novels. :Drogar-Smoke(DBG):

Of course, with those we still have to face that darn blank page. :badputer:
 
JonathanLB said:
My question: How worried should I really be about that? What is the best thing to do with an unproduced screenplay that I can't afford to finance currently? I registered my first script with the copyright office two days ago, and I'm producing it myself, so I don't really care about sending it out because nobody can beat me to the punch anyway. I shoot in 6 months. The second script, though, will need financing at some point or need to be sold, and now I'm all paranoid about it because it's my best script.
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A 'screenplay' is per se protected, registration gives more protection. "ideas" can't be protect, at least in the US(*). But some studios/producers will buy 'pitches' that is something between an idea, and a completed script, which has ideas but are concrete enough that they don't want the hassle of a suit.

But 'ideas' are ripped off all the time... so, the 'idea' here is, have a completed, USDA registered script in your pocket, and then if you 'pitch' that script, the various 'ideas' that pitch embodies, are as covered as they ever can be, if the company you pitch to, comes up with a 'nearly' identical film, but with your involvement...

If another company down the street comes up with a near hit on your script, but there's no obvious way that idea was your pitch... well... tough luck...

The alternative is to get your film made first... somehow someway... then anyone else who comes along really does look like they're in second place...

*Don't know about other countries and what constitutes the difference between an 'idea' and an embodiment of an idea in the form of a pitch or script...
 
Yeah

Yeah

Yeah, well that's why I'm not paranoid about this particular script, the first one, because i shoot in 6 months. If someone can rewrite it, then shoot it, all before this July, well good on them, I guess I'll just tip my cap and call them my daddy ;)

But I'm unsure if I even want to send out the second script. Maybe it's better to revise it myself, go ahead and copyright it, and just see how my first feature does. Keep this one in my back pocket, if there's interest in my writing or my directing, I will have this as a very strong, passionate project of mine. And I'm sure I'll be able to fund it one day, but of course it'd be my preference it is done in the next 5-6 years because it's somewhat time relevant at least. I mean, it matters. It won't fade quickly but it's relevant to a technology that is in development that could be anywhere between 20 years away and 100 years away.

Fortunately my next 2 screenplay ideas are quite low budget, both can be done on reasonable micro budget levels, like in the $100K to $200K range I think. So maybe I really should just stick to writing that kind of material for now, since I want to direct anyway, may as well mostly write material that is at the budget I can afford.

It's just tough because I'm most passionate about this project. In fact it cleverly explores an issue that I'm very passionate about, and to some extent if someone were to think it was a great script and steal the idea, and preserved some of the presentation, hey if they make it into a film that raises awareness of this idea, I'd almost be ok with that! It would still benefit me, lol. I'd be ticked of course my idea got ripped but I'd be happy if it accomplished what I wanted out of it. I think I'll sit on it for a while, keep polishing it.

Let's be honest, though, and realistic, if you want $5-8 million to finance a film, you better be somewhat well established. I mean if my first feature sold for $500,000, which is still pretty optimistic in that today's market doesn't guarantee distribution at all, let alone a nice, solid 6-figure payday, you're still not guaranteed to have someone turn around and hand you a huge multiple of what your last film made. I think if I did a good enough job to make a film that got a $500K minimum guarantee, and it went on to make the distribution company money, yes, I'd have no problem raising let's say $300K to $500K for my second film, but $5-8M is a far cry from that. As an indie filmmaking you just have to be realistic about what you can and can't do, and what to expect.

I fully expect to make $100K at least selling my first feature, and based on the business am really not worried about the risk of doing so, but there couldn't be a much bigger risk at this point than a $5M indie film. VERY VERY few indie films are acquired for that kind of money now days, seriously it'd be like winning the lottery. You'd have to attach some really solid talent to it and pre-sell it to a mini-major, one of the few remaining shingles of major studios. The idea is also not highly commercial, it's certainly accessible and not esoteric, and I think it would have a lot of appeal for intelligent moviegoers, but I don't believe there are all that many of those out there ;) For instance, I don't see it doing that well in the key 14-25 age bracket, it would be more likely to hit big in the over 25 arena. All of the facts about the project make it a tough sell short of me being a hot-shot young director with great talent willing to take a pay cut, or me selling the script to someone who really believed in the project. And that would be tough for me to do, too.
 
JonathanLB said:
Fortunately my next 2 screenplay ideas are quite low budget, both can be done on reasonable micro budget levels, like in the $100K to $200K range I think. So maybe I really should just stick to writing that kind of material for now, since I want to direct anyway, may as well mostly write material that is at the budget I can afford.
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Roger Corman recently received a 'lifetime achevement' award... for making 50 years worth of 'budget' movies...

Given that Drive-ins and'double features', along with cheap theater showings have all but disappeared, and most 'indy' stuff is most likely destined for direct-to-internet distribution... the quality of the equipment now available should allow for a large number of 'under 100K' films, that might even be worth watching (as opposed to being excuses for hopping in the back set of the 57 Chevy sedan with Mary Lou...)...

As for getting in to bigger budgets... make a series of $100K movies, that show even a 'meager' profit, may be more saleable for a bigger budget, than trying to sell a '$4 M' project straight, or nearly straight off...
 
To the original question, I tend to agree with the pundits who say screenplay theft fears are a trait of amateurs. Established, top professionals whose work's value is known to be bankable are properly fearful and protective, but that's another conversation. For 'learners' (to put it kindly) I think the value of quality feedback vastly exceeds the risk of theft, which as has been pointed out here already, is very difficult to prove aside from outright copy & paste cases, and basically impossible where ideas or concepts are concerned. But good feedback/criticism etc. is *vital* IMO, *especially* for learners. One of the commonest and most unfortunate traits of beginning screenwriters is to restrict access to their work to 'protect' it from theft. The consequence however, is almost always that instead, it's 'protected' from being any good.

In my experience as an actor, screenwriter and co-screenwriter, the most zealously guarded scripts I've seen (or been restricted from seeing all of, or forced to sign NDAs for, etc.) have been with few exceptions among the worst scripts I've encountered. The reason, as described above, seems inescapably self evident.

Imagine instead that you were a young baseball pitcher with major league aspirations, and you had what you thought was an amazing pitching style that you had innovated. But wait...some other player might see your technique and copy it right? That could kill its value and thus your chances of making it in the majors, right? Well then...better practice in secret at a rented warehouse where no one can spy on you... Better not hire a coach either, because after he sees your incredible breakthrough, he might teach it to some other kid, right? And you better not join a team, because...well...all there's all those nefarious other pitchers and everything...it's just not worth the risk! So, you save your big unveiling for major league scouting day...only to find that against their hitters your 'secret weapon' pitch is getting whacked out of the park about 80% of the time at like, warp-nine.

Then, after you tell him how you got yourself there, the scout takes you by the arm, walks you to the front of the group and says: "Boys, I'd like you all to meet this year's winner of the Mr. Stupid Award"...

That's what happens too often with beginning screenwriters. Their screenplay is crap because: A) they haven't learned yet how to do it well (which is quite understandable), and: B) they haven't given anyone who might be able to point that out to them the chance to do so (which is...well...see the baseball award above).

So I agree with the first group of writers JonathanLB mentioned. Don't be an amateur - get your scripts out there for criticism. Lots of it. And most importantly *learn* from that. Your first one will, almost 100% guaranteed, suck. Let the kind people who are more knowledgeable than you tell you that in sufficient numbers and in sufficient detail that after maybe your fourth or fifth or tenth one, you might have something really good. Or you might discover (as Dov Simens admits about himself) that you aren't really cut out for it, and maybe someone else should write while you shoot, or direct, or produce, or whatever...

My $02
 
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Yeah

Yeah

Yeah, I agree with what you are saying. This chapter in the book I read made no sense to me because it basically said don't send your script anywhere, don't send it to anyone, because they could rip off your ideas, your story, etc. But it really didn't provide any good alternative. I was just left thinking, "Umm... ok... so if you don't send it anywhere, why write it?" So it's a risk that if you send it out, even when it's copyrighted, someone sees scenes they like and rips those off. Well, ok. I mean there is always that risk. But everything carries with it risks. I think if you do all you can to protect yourself, that's really all you can do. You keep records of who you send it to, you register the copyright, etc., you're doing what you can, beyond that if someone steals parts from your script it's tough to do much about that.

This guy was being incredibly paranoid, it was about the funniest thing I've read. No disrespect to him but the level of paranoia bordered on X-Files / Mulder type of stuff. He was suggesting putting INTENTIONALLY FALSE information in your script as a "watermark" so that if someone copied it and rewrote some parts, that hopefully your watermark would still be there. And making it something most people wouldn't pick up on. Like, in his example, a couple in China on top of some mountain, looking down at some river, but in reality that river is hundreds of miles away and they couldn't possibly be looking at it, because it's another river that is below that mountain. So, uhh, basically you're hoping to god your reader has never studied Chinese history or Chinese philosophy or been to China (I've done all of those things, lol), otherwise they are going to know that's wrong and, if they're like me, think, "Wow this screenwriter is an idiot, he clearly hasn't done his homework," and probably pass on the script unless it's very, very good besides. But if i found an obvious factual error like that in a script, I would start to question whether any of it was well researched at all. It's like if you lie to my face, but everything else you say is true, I don't know that, I'm just thinking I caught you in one lie, so I've established you're the type of person who would lie to me, and therefore everything else you say -- no matter how honest -- is immediately suspect.

I just think that's craziness! Intentional factual errors just to protect against possible theft? If you even explain that to an agent or studio exec who you send the script to, let's say, you're ruining your protection, so you're defeating the purpose anyway, but you're also basically saying "I'm a crazy person who is so paranoid about anyone stealing my script I'm going to miswrite it." I get this writer has been ripped off apparently or he is sour about a bad experience, but maybe he should have had someone else write that section.

Feedback is *totally critical* to improving your writing skills! I have gotten a ton out of sending my screenplay to my actors and my DP, even though the DP isn't really in this field, he has given me some excellent food for thought and some suggestions just as a movie buff that make a lot of sense. If we just took the draft I sent them and shot it, we'd actually have a lot worse movie than after I do the next rewrite, and I'm sure there will be more rewrites after that. It's not because I'm not a good writer, but a lot of it is experience, and a lot of the ideas suggested I had actually considered myself, but somehow didn't include them, and I guess I needed other people to say, "Hey we could go this direction with this character, develop him more, he could be more of a villain," etc. Then I think, "Grr, I had that in my outline, I just didn't do it, for whatever reasons." So if anything the feedback allows me to trust my instincts more and gain confidence, and start to see things in new ways as well. It's the only way you grow, really.

Maybe I have a different opinion than some, but I don't think for me, no matter how good I am at anything, that I would prefer to take nobody's advice but my own. I think it's one reason why some directors make great films early, and their films actually get worse -- they succeed early on, and start to get a big ego about how great they are, forgetting that a lot of other people helped them along and gave great advice, that they are now ignoring because they're so great in their own minds. I always think it's nice to have someone else's fresh look at my work, whether it's an editor of a non-fiction book I wrote, someone else looking at a music video we edited, whatever really. I've never experienced something get worse when I got more advice on it, provided I was able to ignore the advice / suggestions that I didn't think fit.
 
The digital age has made outright plagiarism a lot harder to get away with. College students, non-fiction writers and lots of other "authors" are getting busted left and right on copy & paste theft by simply googling the whole document to find matching text. A classical pianist was recently exposed as a fraud by using the CDDB album/track identifying system. This amateur pianist's husband had been releasing albums of other much more accomplished pianists under her name undetected for quite some time, to critical acclaim and considerable sales. Thanks to the CDDB, not any more...
 
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