Paranavaí court sentences Femup winner for plagiarism

A court in Paranavaí has sentenced a participant of the 59th Festival of Music and Poetry of Paranavaí (Femup) for plagiarism. The individual had won a prize in the short story category with a work that was found to be a near-total copy of the existing text ‘Epitáfio’ by writer Regina Ruth Rincon Caires.

The defendant admitted to using the text but claimed the plagiarism was unintentional, stating that an artificial intelligence tool was used to produce the story. Despite this defense, the court ruled that the use of a plagiarized work in a publicly funded competition compromised the integrity of the contest and affected the artistic community and society.

The sentence, issued by the 2nd Public Treasury Court of Paranavaí, requires the individual to pay R$ 10,000 in collective moral damages and reimburse the municipality for expenses related to the award, which included R$ 867.93 for lodging and meals.