A friend of mine who is a respected popular science writer recently told me that a book of his had been quite broadly ripped off by a TV show without ever getting any credit (or payment). Other people I know have been sure that much more has been lifted from their books than just ideas and information.

Back in 2005, one of the UK’s best-known psychiatrists, TV and radio broadcaster Raj Persaud, got in trouble when he was caught out allegedly reproducing chunks of text from another article without representing them as quotes. (See The Guardian.)

I find this terrible – but at the same time, an inevitable part of my work is reading other people’s books and papers in order to use aspects of that information in what I write.

Is it obvious where we draw the line? Clearly you shouldn’t quote without making it clear that it is a quote and referencing it, but equally (as the Da Vinci Code trials have proved) it should be perfectly acceptable to research a subject, then write your own take on it, fact or fiction.

Any thoughts?