Intellectual Property Statement of Ethics

Intellectual property is defined as the unique intellectual output of a person or persons. Some examples of intellectual property are works of art, written or design works that are for commerce, patents, and copyrights. The World Intellectual Property Organization (2018) uses the terminology "creations of the mind". The legal definition for each of these things being intellectual property varies by type and by jurisdiction. For example, some IP is protected by copyright, some by patent, so there is a need to know what type of IP you are dealing with to ascertain the legal dimensions of it (Keener, Lock & Makaravage, n.d). But as a general principle if somebody adds unique value to a work, then that value-added work can be considered their intellectual property. If someone creates an entire work, then it is clearly their property, but the value added principle allows for people to build on things – they would not hold the entire work as property, just what they have added.
Plagiarism is a specific violation of intellectual property ethics whereby somebody passes off the written work of another, without giving credit. There are a number of different factors that contribute to something being considered plagiarism. The first is whether the idea is common knowledge. An example would be the definition of plagiarism. If 100 people write out that definition, it will be fairly similar because the approximate definition of the term is well-established and common knowledge. That said, if I copy my definition from a website, then I need to credit that website, because it is not my definition at all. Plagiarism.org (2017) also adds that "changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit" would also qualify, as would "copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work."
Some other factors to consider are whether there are any unique phrases used or not, and to what degree was attribution given. What this means is whether the attribution was properly given to the author – a poor citation that does not make clear where the idea came from is insufficient.
There are many ethical uses for intellectual property. One is to quote or credit something. In this case you are specifically using someone's words to give them credit for those words. Further, this might be the best phrasing for the idea – it is better to use the best words to convey an idea and give credit to the source than to paraphrase and get the idea wrong. Another reasonable use of intellectual property is when one is paying a fee for its use. Think of a radio station playing a song – it pays to play that song so that is definitely fair use. Another fair use, as established under law, is parody, where the parody is its own work of intellectual property, even though it is building on another work (Marshall & Siciliano, n.d.). There are others who have made the argument that the harm principle should be applied – at least when this is an ethical or moral issue rather than a legal one. The harm principle shifts the dynamic of ethical use – if you are not denying someone's rights, such as to earn money from their IP, then you are not violating ethics (Masnick, 2010).
There are also irresponsible uses for intellectual property. Plagiarism is one – where you use someone else's intellectual property without giving that person credit, trying to pass the work off as your own. That is unethical. Another situation that would be considered irresponsible use is to give wrong credit – citing something incorrectly such that the wrong person is being cited for that particular work. Misattribution can also giving credit to the right person but getting the idea completely wrong. Proper adherence to the norms of citations would help, as would directly referencing the source material to ensure that you are getting it right. If you're guessing that you remember what somebody said, that is not good enough.
I will cite my sources correctly.
I will verify the accuracy of the material that I am using
I will avoid misattribution
I will become familiar with intellectual property rules so that I know when a potential issue may arise.
References
Keener, M., Lock, M. & Makaravage, E. (no date). Ethical uses of intellectual property: The good, the bad and the confusing. Research Like a Librarian. Retrieved January 14, 2018 from https://cloud.lib.wfu.edu/blog/research-like-a-librarian/ethical-uses-of-information-the-good-the-bad-the-confusing/

Marshall, J. & Siciliano, N. (no date). The satire/parody distinction in copyright and trademark law: Can satire ever be a fair use? American Bar Association. Retrieved January 14, 2018 from https://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/committees/intellectual/roundtables/0506_outline.pdf

Masnick, M. (2010). Is intellectual property itself unethical? TechDirt. Retrieved January 14, 2018 from https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100519/0404029486.shtml

Plagiarism.org (2017). What is plagiarism? Plagairism.org. Retrieved January 14, 2018 from http://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism

WIPO (2018) What is Intellectual Property? World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved January 14, 2018 from http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/intproperty/450/wipo_pub_450.pdf