An issue of potential plagiarism has come to light, raising questions about the ethical practices in scholarly publishing. Journal A received a complaint three years after publishing an original article, alleging plagiarism in a case report previously published by Journal B. The complaint highlighted an identical paragraph in the introductions of both articles, along with similarities in certain paragraphs within the discussion sections.
Journal A, upon investigation, found that their article did not reference Journal B, despite the ease of discovery through a simple literature search. While Journal A does not categorize this as scientific fraud, there are concerns about potential copyright infringement and ethical considerations in publishing.
According to advice from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), plagiarism is viewed seriously. Given the apparent use of extracts without proper attribution, the editor was recommended to communicate with the author, emphasizing that appropriating the words of others without clear attribution constitutes intellectual theft and may breach copyright. For a less experienced researcher or someone with English as a second language, a gentle warning and guidance on proper citation were suggested. However, for a senior or experienced researcher, some COPE members proposed informing the author's institution and publishing a corrigendum.
In the follow-up, the editor of Journal A contacted the author responsible for the plagiarism, who responded by expressing unawareness of the previous article and the plagiarism in the identified paragraphs. Despite this, the author, acknowledging their role as the first author, took full responsibility, agreeing that proper referencing should have been done. The author extended apologies to the author of the previous article, highlighting a commitment to addressing the oversight.