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Copyright traps are false information intentionally placed in reference works to detect plagiarism. Maps and dictionaries have used them, and bloggers can use unique phrases to identify plagiarists. Fictitious rumors can be humorous, but can also be taken seriously.
A copyright trap is incorrect or strange information that is placed in a reference work so that copyright infringements and plagiarism can be easily detected. Copyright traps are also sometimes known as dummy rumors or Mountweazels. When someone repeats misinformation without a proper citation, it’s a sign that plagiarism or intellectual theft may have been involved, as misinformation only exists in one place.
A classic use of the copyright trap is in maps. Map companies say they no longer use copyright traps, although there is some evidence to the contrary. An example of a copyright trap in a map might be a city that doesn’t actually exist, sometimes called a “paper city.” If another cartographer were to refer to the paper city in his maps of him, it would mean that he stole his information from him, rather than doing his own research.
Dictionaries have also been known to use copyright traps, making up words and seeing how many dictionaries fall for the trick. Dictionaries rely on original research to publish and define new words, ideally relying on several sources to confirm that the word is in common use. If a dictionary repeats a copyright trap, the publisher of the original dictionary might scrutinize other dictionary entries for signs of plagiarism.
Some Internet content producers also employ a copyright trap to protect their content. Bloggers, for example, can place a unique keyword phrase in their entries so that if another site uses their work without attribution, they can find it by searching for the keyword phrase. It’s not many times that a phrase like “crumpled bananas” appears in the middle of a web page, so these copyright traps act as fingerprints that can be used to identify lazy plagiarists who cut and paste without paying attention to the content. These copyright traps can also serve as a hint when material is “borrowed” for an academic paper, as the grading professor may make note of the strange phrase and search the Internet for its origins.
Bogus rumors can also be humorous in nature, designed as a hoax for people with sharp eyes. Humor can sometimes backfire, however, especially if a fictitious rumor is reprinted in other publications, adding an air of believability that tricks people into believing the information is true. Confusions about birthdates, birthplaces, and other biographical information can sometimes be traced to fictitious entries added in jest and later taken seriously by people unfamiliar with the subject.
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