Intellectual Property Theft

We've all been there. You go to your advisor with a great idea for your a class you want to design and teach, a research project, even a thesis. Your advisor questions you day in and day out. You "defend" your idea with examples from your rigorous prior literature review, data, and prior experience. Your advisor discourages you from doing your proposed idea, but you keep going, sure of its value. Next thing you know, your advisor announces their own version of your class, research project, or thesis. And you aren't given a single crumb of credit.

"As she looked over the highlighted parts of each paper that indicated similar content, she said that this was the most egregious thing she’d ever seen a professor do to a graduate student." - Allison Harbin

How to Prevent Intellectual Property Theft

Copyright your work.

1. Your work is Copyright protected once it is in fixed form, but you can add the following text as an extra layer of protection.

   1. The copyright symbol © or the word "Copyright"

   2. The year of first publication

   3. The name of the copyright owner

   4. A statement of rights, such as "All Rights Reserved"

2. Consider registering your work with a copyright office or uploading it to an open-access repository that publicly timestamps and proves your authorship.

Keep records of your work. Not just any way. The 'insurance' way.

Using Google Docs to verify your intellectual property is a simple but effective way to protect against plagiarism and establish ownership. Google Docs automatically timestamps every edit and saves version history, creating an immutable record of when a document was created and modified. This built-in audit trail can serve as evidence in cases of plagiarism, proving that you were the original creator of the content. Additionally, storing drafts and revisions in Google Drive ensures your work is backed up and accessible, making it easier to defend your intellectual property in academic or legal disputes.

1. Store your Google Document in an account that is independent of your university email.

   1. Universities may lose or delete records—especially after you exit the university—leaving you without access to vital documentation. You may not be ready to take action on plagiarism until you are safely outside the university.

   2. By using a personal, non-university email account, you ensure that your records remain intact and accessible even after leaving the institution. CC an independent email account on all meeting-related emails to guarantee secure archiving outside of the university’s control.

Track all meetings regarding your work.

1. Before the meeting:

   1. Prepare a meeting Google Document

      1. Include links to Google Documents of your ideas, drafts, or research in the meeting Google Document. This ensures that your intellectual property is recorded clearly in the same place you track discussions.

      2. Include the meeting agenda and any topics you plan to discuss.

      3. Format the Google Document for both comments you make, and responses of the faculty member. A simple table may accomplish this well. Column 1 might be the topic, column 2 might be your statements, and column 3 might be your faculty member's statements. You can customize this format for your own needs. Just remember to fill it out consistently, and in a format that makes it easier to locate records later on if needed.

   2. Know your university's policy.

      1. Ask about policies related to intellectual property in your department or university. Many institutions have specific guidelines for student-created intellectual property, especially if it involves grant funding or collaboration with faculty. If you were paid by the institution to produce this work, you may not be allowed to claim ownership of it. Be sure to check what your university's policies are prior to beginning your work, so you understand what your rights are or are not.

      2. Link your university's intellectual property link in the document at the top of every meeting, where you can always refer to it. That sends a clear signal to your professor that you know your rights. Plan to discuss your reasoning for including that link in your first meeting with the faculty member, as they will likely take note. One approach is to ask that you read it over together, follow up with any discussion or questions that you may need to refer out, then ensure that you have a written understanding of who owns the intellectual property rights of the work. A university professional should receive these efforts positively, but be prepared for a potential defensive (or offensive) reaction. If you observe that any form of harassment, bullying, or retaliation is occurring during or after these discussions, refer to the related pages on this site.

   3. Email the meeting Google Document to the faculty member before the meeting. This creates a record of intellectual property being presented and discussed.

2. During the meeting:

   1. Use the meeting Google Document to note the meeting time, the topics discussed, and the professor’s actual comments or feedback. Be sure to document any specific statements they make about your work, such as their understanding of your research or any direction they provide.

3. After the meeting,

   1. Immediately update the document with a summary of what was discussed, including any feedback the professor provided, actions to take, and particularly any comments made about using or building on your work. This will create a detailed and documented trail for future reference.

   2. Send a follow-up email with the updated Google Document, and ask your professor to confirm, over email, that your summary of the meeting is accurate. This prevents any "he said she said" arguments later on if there is a written record of consensus. If there is any discrepancy on what occurred, you can use this document to note the disagreement. That record may be important later on as well.

How this formula helps

This formula communicates to would-be plagiarists that you are building a fortress around yourself and your work. A fortress made of a paper trail. And that paper trail will make it harder for them to... frankly... get away with stealing your work. If a plagiarist steals your work anyway, you have a paper trail with which to hold them accountable. Look at it this way: 🏴‍☠️insurance.🏴‍☠️

Articles

• Coercion of Grads, and Now IP Theft?

• When a Mentor Becomes a Thief

• Please Don't Steal My Work

• Exclusive: Prof plagiarized postdoc’s work in now-retracted paper, university found

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