Sunday, July 1, 2012

Explaining that I did not commit Plagiarism....or How to lose a beautiful Sunday at home!



Today we have celebrated the Day of Canada ..... waking up late .... eat some Canadian food ...... ...... comment on your blogs and going out to enjoy the shows ..... that was the plan ....... When I found a message that I was accused of having plagiarized from another blog a way to make the Pan Pine Christmas .... I was shocked not only because I didn't copy the shape from this blog, but also because I didn't even know this blog! ...... I owe an explanation to my daughter as we didn't go to a picnic to the park .... we ate at home .....


Plagiarism is a serious accusation, and I take it very seriously specially when somebody accuses me of this issue.


To be honest, it was not a pleasant wake up, mainly  because I didn't remember having seen the blog that wrote me. This blog is a vegan one and from Ireland .... and in my case I love cheese, seafood and eggs ..... I'm also a devoted cook to Mediterranean, Latin and Asian foods ....... so it is unlikely that I visit blogs that are Vegans and from Ireland. If you look at my favorites blogs they  are from Spain, Chile, France, Italy, Greece, USA (who are Latinos), and Asia for Indian, Vietnamese and Thai food.


In addition, I have a policy that I always ask for permission (I send an email) when I make a recipe from another blog. This can be confirmed by many of you whom I have written asking permission to post your recipes in my blog.


I also have faced the copy of our photos without permission, which is why I reported this to Blogger Copyright Policy Center ..... I know very well the blogger policies regarding the copying of other blogs (http: / / support.google.com / blogger / bin / answer.py? hl = en & answer = 157218) ....


What are the policies of plagiarism of Blogger?  you can see them here http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=es&hlrm=en&answer=157218


But in summary  they are: (extracted verbatim from   http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&hlrm=en&answer=157218 )


  • Literary works, including articles and passages of text
  • Images and photographs
  • Music files and MP3s
  • Movies, movie trailers and videos
  • Pirated software


Every time I have found photos or text of us in other blogs, the first thing I do is to write to the author of the blog asking Why she/he have used my images and / or text without consent, and if the answer does not satisfy me (or no answer), then I reported to Blogger who determines who has the reason ..... I have never accused anyone of plagiarism because I see a similar work in another blog that I have done in my blog, I do not live my life asking for  recognition..... It is not the way how I act in life .... I find it very arrogant and haughty .... and I think that there is already enough negativity in this world to continue contributing to it.....


The point is that I was accused of having copied the form and Braided Pine Christmas. First of all the braided technique was copied from Hilmar, and I wrote her to ask for permission. Second, I did not find any blog to make a bread shaped into Pine Christmas, but as my daughter was in kindergarten  we used to look for arts and crafts  sites for children, and in one of them I found a paper pattern of a tree. It was something like this (http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/image-09/xmas-tree-paper-stand-ups.png) Figure # 3, but it is not the same place and I could not find the exactly site today, but that was the idea. If you see this image #3, then you will see that is very similar to how I have started the Bread Pine Tree.

With this figure, the braided bread from Hilmar, the arts and crafts of my daughter, and my profession helped me get to this form. Many of you know that I work as an Economist because I have done my MSc in Economics here in Canada, but in Chile I graduated from an Engineering, and one of the first years in the University I had a course called "Technical Drawing".


It is not pleasant to wake up and receive an accusation of plagiarism, especially when my rule has always been to seek permission before using others work .......


For this reason, I wrote a letter this blogger .....:

"Dear Blogger XYZ,

Thanks for your comment; however, before telling me that this is a plagiarism, you should ask whether I use your idea or not.


 If you see all the posts in my blog, then you will see that every time that I copy a recipe or an idea,  not only I give credit to the source, but also I always ask for permission. My blog is plenty of examples. How do I do that? First, I always write an email to the blogger, then I write my post. Therefore, the blogger knows in advance what I am going to do, and she/he can comment in advance. If you wish, then I can give you examples of how I have done this in the past, and how I have requested permission for it.

Now, to your accusation of plagiarism. I have seen your recipe and it is very similar to my pine tree only in shape, but it is not the same dough or filling. I remember that at that time, I was looking how to transform a braid bread into a pine tree (you can see the original braided bread here http://foodtravelandwine.blogspot.ca/2010/09/delicious-braided-breadfrom-hilmars.html), and I copied this bread from another blog. I have wrote the blogger in advance to let her know that I will be posting her recipe. 

For the pine tree, I searched a lot of blogs, and I don't remember that I saw your post, otherwise, I would have wrote you. I saw similar breads, but no exactly what I wanted. That is why I look into art and crafts website, and I found a shape of pine tree that was not exactly the same, but I transformed it using geometry. That is the reason why I talk about Euclides in the post, because he is the Father of Geometry, and I am an engineer. Therefore, I had classes of Technical drawing at the University, and I use the principles of geometry to convert a square into a folding triangle (or a cone shape), the braided part comes from the bread that I copied from Hilmar. It is exactly how she does the braid bread (http://misrecetasfavoritas2.blogspot.ca/2010/07/trenza-de-cerezas-y-queso-crema.html).When I saw her first picture at the top left, immediately I thought how to transform it into a pine tree or Christmas tree (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_GQ-D-EN6znM/TC_ozJwtagI/AAAAAAAAB84/8NumOcq6NXw/s1600/trenza+y+pan+de+leche.jpg). I don't remember what arts and crafts website I used because I used my own idea, but I remember it was something similar to this (http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/image-09/xmas-tree-paper-stand-ups.png) draw #3. That is how I started to mix the Hilmar's braided bread (first picture top left) into a pine bread tree.

I don't think you have the copyright of transforming a square into  a Cone shape (the first step), because the braided of it I have copied from Hilmar and she does the the cuts of the sides, and the cuts in the bottom which I have used. I have looked other braided breads in pine shapes and they have use their own ideas which in cases are similar to what I have done, but I don't write them that they have done plagiarism.

I am a very respectful person of the idea of others. My ideas and pictures have been used by other bloggers without my consent, and I have wrote to these bloggers in a respectful way without telling them that they have done plagiarism. I know how you feel. However, you should ask first how two post are similars before accusing of plagiarism. 

FYI, I have found some information that can be useful for you about plagiarism:

1)The process of copying the content from one blog to another blog without any previous information to the owner of the article is known as blog Plagiarism.

Read more: http://www.shoutmeloud.com/how-to-deal-with-blog-plagiarism.html#ixzz1zOZP7Pxv 
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives



3) Search for your work in other blogs: http://www.copyscape.com/


Regards,

Me"

After having written and sent this email, she wrote to apologize because her intention was not to "have misjudged your intention and your creation", and that unfortunately the ideas are copied without credit. I understand her frustration, because I also have had copied from my blog, but what I do not understand the accusation without asking. Unfortunately, as I wrote, this idea was never made ​​it my own, she had it, I had it, the others had (you can find several breads in this shape .... in English, Spanish and French .. .) ...... who started with the first idea I don't know but certainly I did not copy it ....

Moreover, before accusing someone we should know what are we accusing of ....... today ..... it's easy to accuse without knowing all the rules it is unproductive, and destructive   .... and  I'm not in that way of life .. ...

International law specifies that (among many) photos and text are protected under copyright laws. Unfortunately, ideas and concepts are not protected. Everyone at some point we have been suffered the copy of our work from others ...... but to seek who copy our ideas is a vanity that I don't have.....at least for now .....

Remember the Color Gnocchi imitating a painter's palette? .....





That presentation I made it at home and after I published it, I saw it in several blogs in the United States. With a different recipe of gnochis, with different colors, but the same concept or idea......Can I say that they copied my idea and that idea was mine and only mine? ...... That would be highly arrogant .... if it was made ​​by me or your own creativity it does not matter ..... we all enjoyed making it and eating it ..... I cannot do a round pie saying that I invented the wheel ...........


If there is something that I have learned from blogging is not only to recognize that I have used your ideas  when I've done (and I have asked permission before doing it), but also I have learned that I am willing to accept that ideas and concepts can be used to share our love for cooking without vanity or arrogance ..... and honestly I do not copy her idea ....


CONCLUSION:
1) I didn't copy this blog
2) I do not follow vegan blogs (except Miju), I have other preferences.
3) The pines are associated with Christmas since the Fifteenth Century (Wikipedia)
4) To transform a rectangle or square into a pine is described in several sites in North America (arts and crafts). Which one I use? I don't remember, it's been 2 years and at this point I cannot say which,  I saw many at that time.


Sorry for the extent of this post  tomorrow I'll be back with recipes .... .....

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