As the saying goes, with an artist, it’s not about what and how you stole it, it’s about what you did with what you stole.
University of the Philippines
(UP) Diliman alumnus Mark Joseph Solis made it to the tabloids after being
caught submitting a stolen photo in an international contest and won first
place.
The photo
portrayed a boy with seaweed on his hair as a kid from Zamboanga who helps his
father farm seaweed. Smith claimed the photo was taken in 2006 while the boy
was playing with seaweed at the beaches of Brazil.
Solis won $1000
and a chance to travel abroad from the Chilean Embassy’s Calidad Humana Photo
Essay Competition by submitting a photo from Gregory John Smith’s Flickr
account.
Gregory Smith,
owner of the photo, expressed his outrage by posting a comment on a feature
article of the Chilean ambassador Roberto Mayorga saying that he has “awarded
the first prize to an imposter who has abused my copyright.”
According to
Rappler.com, this wasn’t the first time Solis has entered a contest using
someone else’s photos. Solis also used Smith’s photo for the United Nations
International Year of Water Cooperation contest, this time claiming the boy was
from India.
Solis also entered 3 stolen photos from Flickr accounts to a
sustainable development photo contest hosted by a European Union company called
VinylPlus.
If a person who
kills three or more people over a period of time is called a serial killer, then
Solis who plagiarized more than three times can be called a ‘serial
plagiarist.’
UP President
Alfredo Pascual issued a statement on the Solis issue, stating that he shares
the outrage felt by everyone and has instructed a fact-finding committee to
investigate on what happened and to recommend measures to be taken to ensure
that justice is served.
Even as Solis has habitually committed
plagiarism, UP has done the right thing in handling the issue by due process.
It is a demonstration that UP is willing to be humane and just to a ‘serial
plagiarist’ who has marred the reputation of honor and excellence
