Copyright stairs

Also called: fake entry, ghost word, null article or copyright trap

A copyright trap is a fictitious article or term in an encyclopedia or database, meant to detect and prove plagiarism. By adding an invented term to a large amount of information, this collection acquires a characteristic unique to this particular file. When others copy the data from this source, they will also include these copyright traps. This makes the original source traceable. Incorporating unique characteristics also makes it easier for a collection of information to be subject to copyright or database law.

Such fictional additions are also referred to as nil articles. They are widely used within encyclopedias and dictionaries, but also by carthographers, for example. With the opening up of large databases and information directories via the Internet, even such websites are often protected from plagiarism by incorporating copyright traps.

In the 1930s, General Drafting added the fictional town of Agloe on the Esso road map they created. The name of this place was based on the initials of founder Otto G. Lindberg and his assistant Ernest Alpers. This place subsequently turned up on several other maps as well. At the intersection of main roads, where Agloe was inscribed, a store later appeared with the name "Agloe General Store. With this, the name was no longer fictitious and the copyright trap lost its effect.

Sometimes the fictional terms contain jokes or references to the compilers of a database.

Adding a copyright trap means that the regular user of an information source may encounter erroneous information. Since these will usually be very specific articles in a very large collection of data, this disadvantage outweighs the advantage of being able to catch plagiarism.