copyright traps

Noun

copyright trap (plural copyright traps)

1. Any material covertly inserted into a copyrighted work in order to identify plagiarized versions.
   • Publishers of maps sometimes include copyright traps—small errors such as the inclusion of a nonexistent road, “trap street,” or a fictitious bend in a road. If a competitor wrongfully copies the map, copyright traps may prove useful in a court case. In 2001 the British Automobile Association paid...2019, Per Mollerup, Pretense Design: Surface Over Substance, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 176