Patent Law

Another inadvertent plagiarism case

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

Raj Persaud, 45, consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster and prolific author, told a misconduct hearing of the GMC in Manchester yesterday that he had passed off other researchers' work as his own in books and articles. He admitted his actions were "inappropriate" and "misleading".

(...)

At the opening of the hearing yesterday, which is expected to last five days, Dr Persaud, wearing a grey suit and black spectacles, admitted plagiarising four articles for his 2003 book, From the Edge of the Couch. He also admitted reproducing other material as if it was his own in articles for journals and newspapers, including The Independent.

Jeremy Donne QC, for the GMC, said: "The articles, we say, speak for themselves and they all demonstrate the extent Dr Persaud has appropriated the work of others as his own. We further allege that Dr Persaud has been dishonest ... Dishonesty can be inferred from his repeated conduct in plagiarising the work of academics ... thereby enhancing his professional reputation and standing with the public as well as enhancing himself in the press."

(...)

His troubles began in April 2006 when allegations of plagiarism first surfaced in an article in the Sunday Times. The Times Educational Supplement admitted he had "copied" another academic's work and the British Medical Journal and Progress in Neurology both retracted articles by him following allegations of plagiarism. The latter case prompted an apology from Dr Persaud, who said a "cutting and pasting error" meant some references had been omitted.

IPBiz notes that we can thank Glenn Poshard and SIU for advancing the defense of "inadvertent plagiarism."

See also:

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2008/06/dropped-straight-out-of-guys-and-dolls.html

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2008/01/poshards-revisions-to-plagiarized.html

On inconsistency in dealing with plagiarism, see

Plagiarism at Hearst: A tale of two Texas newspapers

Full post as published by IPBiz on June 16, 2008 (boomark / email).