1. an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author; and,
2. a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation.
Therefore, as long as one either: a) obtains authorization and does not represent that work as one's own, and b) credits the original author - then one is not committing plagiarism.
The ethical student/worker will always cite their sources (and obtain permission from whoever has enough money to buy the rights, Disney comes to mind), so as to avoid any suspicion of plagarism since possible repercussions may include: lower grades, disciplinary actions, civil/criminal lawsuits, or even dismissal.
What I find interesting, and although it is not described in the definition, is that reusing/copying one's own work may also be considered plagiarism by many institutions.
I have taken this course before in at least 2 other institutions of higher learning, but if I were to submit the work I've previously submitted, it might also be considered plagiarism (even though I am the original creator and intellectual property owner (actually, the schools probably own my work now that I think about it... time to …show more content…
You might object that these works were in the public domain, but this is not the case for one film in the 1940's in particular where a famous composer's work was blatantly stolen. Since then Disney's been buying the rights to as many popular artistic works and will go so far as to take you to court for recording "Happy Birthday" without their permission. Although this extends more into copyright infringement, its roots are deeply entagled in