Copyleaks scans for plagarism

One of the first things I learned in journalism school was to be original and never copy someone else’s work. That lesson was easy enough to follow back then when all my work was done with a typewriter. Today, in the age of cut-and-paste word processors it’s oh so tempting to crib a little here and there from work published on the Internet.

But what technology delivers it can also protect. A website called Copyleaks  is an online plagiarism checker that will quickly take a block of text and compare it to masses of documents posted on the web. The service then delivers a report showing websites that might have published the same text without the author’s permission.

There site uses advanced search software that incorporates both the Google and Bing search engines and it combines the results to present the most relevant matches.

Copyleaks offers a version for academics designed for teachers and students and a business version aimed at publishers and businesses that want to trace how their documents are used.

Users can submit up to 2,500 words per month for free. Prices for the business and academic services start at $9.99 per month. Copyleaks also offers an API tool that can be integrated into a business or school netork.

For more details, check the Copyleaks website.

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Written by Ric Manning

Follow me on Twitter @ricmanning and read my technology columns at My Well Being.