Bethesda Comments On Accusations Of Plagiarizing D&D Adventure

Swarmkeeper · May 15, 2019

Elfcrusher said:
I'm curious what you think should have happened differently here. Assuming that the folks at Bethesda didn't have a specific reason to suspect plagiarism (and why would they?), what sort of competent keyword search do you imagine would have tipped them off?

I'm no QC professional, and I realize I do have the power of hindsight here, but one might run a search that includes a setting element, the mcguffin, and the named characters:

- desert AND statue
- "Chandra Stol" OR "Mother Mara" OR "Kah'reem" OR "Zayla"

Given the proclivity for lawsuits in the video game world, it seems this and similar types of QC research would be done (early and often) regardless of whether the company suspects something; it would be done to ensure their "original" idea doesn't too closely resemble something else already out there. Then the company can decide whether to edit the work or just proceed as is.

dimonic · May 17, 2019

DM Dave1 said:
I dunno, maybe have someone at the company who can competently run some keyword searches online for at least 15 minutes as part of their QC procedure before publishing?

Actually if it is anything like patent law, searching for prior patents actually weakens your position. Plus the chances of finding real plagiarism is low if the new "author" has changed the names of people and places.

Madmaxneo · May 18, 2019

I think Bethesda did a good job so far. It is still an alleged act of plagiarism because they have to figure out what happened. Once their investigation is finished they will hopefully issue an apology for working with someone who would give them something that was already published.

Hussar · May 19, 2019

MarkB said:
The first thing I can think of is that they're going to be going through every e-mail and memo involved in the ordering, production and distribution of this product, just in case there's anything in there which could be interpreted as Bethesda being aware of (or even just having cause to be suspicious of) the malfeasance and then going ahead with the project anyway.

Also, the author may not necessarily be co-operating with the investigation. He doesn't have to, unless they bring legal charges. And before they start bringing legal charges they'll want to be sure of the facts of the situation - which is tough without the author's co-operation.

So, sure, it might be something they can clear up in short order. But it might also be something that will drag on for weeks. And if Bethesda do begin legal action, there will probably still be things they don't want to commit to in public until after those proceedings have concluded.

Why would Bethesda be pursuing legal action? Against their own writer? How? What action would they be pursuing? At worst, they fired the writer and moved on. There wouldn't be the slightest chance of Bethesda suing anyone here.

DM Dave1 said:
I'm no QC professional, and I realize I do have the power of hindsight here, but one might run a search that includes a setting element, the mcguffin, and the named characters:

- desert AND statue
- "Chandra Stol" OR "Mother Mara" OR "Kah'reem" OR "Zayla"

Given the proclivity for lawsuits in the video game world, it seems this and similar types of QC research would be done (early and often) regardless of whether the company suspects something; it would be done to ensure their "original" idea doesn't too closely resemble something else already out there. Then the company can decide whether to edit the work or just proceed as is.

Huh? Search how? Google search? That's not going to turn anything up - a minor NPC in a module on DM's Guild? None of that will come up in a Google search.

And, frankly, you DON'T start investigating every single piece that your employees turn in. They're employees. They're hired on the basis that they aren't 1st year University students. The plagarism was caught, actions were taken. You don't double check this sort of stuff beforehand.

Paul Farquhar · May 19, 2019

Hussar said:
Why would Bethesda be pursuing legal action? Against their own writer? How? What action would they be pursuing? At worst, they fired the writer and moved on. There wouldn't be the slightest chance of Bethesda suing anyone here.

It may not be their own writer. They may have contracted it out to an advertising agency. In which case Bethesda may want to sue the agency for reputational damage.

And Bethesda could still be on the receiving end of legal action, in which case they may need to countersue. Whist the injured party has not expressed any interest in bringing it to court, there are those with a vested interest in seeing that it does - the lawyers.

Swarmkeeper · May 19, 2019

Hussar said:
Huh? Search how? Google search? That's not going to turn anything up - a minor NPC in a module on DM's Guild? None of that will come up in a Google search.

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Hussar · May 20, 2019

One has to wonder if the same results would have come up before all the traffic due to the plagiarism. Maybe so. But, in any case, companies don't do this because you tend to assume that your employees are acting in good faith.

Like I said, the plagiarism was caught, the plagiarizing work was removed, end of story, isn't it? What more really needs to be done here? It's not like Bethesda dragged its heels or tried to bury this or did anything other than act in a completely responsible manner.

I'm not really sure what people actually expect here.