From Roy Greenslade’s blog in the Guardian, an item about plagiarism at the Toronto Star, and how editor Kathy English handled the incident. Apparently, intern Marc Ellison liked Star reporter Daniel Dale’s work so much he, um, copied it wholesale and reproduced it in a piece he then submitted for use. Ms. English saw it as plagiarism, even though others pointed out Mr. Ellison was using material in the Star’s own archives. Mr. Ellison has owned up, and apologized.

Plagiarism continues to be problematic for the targeted author, because at law it may not be actionable. It’s the IP lawyer who is most likely to get involved when an author believes her work has been lovingly “appropriated.”