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Someone from where I work took a piece of work I wrote and published it in their name without informing me. I gave them almost a year's time to remove that paper. They did not. Now I complained to the journal and forwarded the proof (Proof with a time stamp showing that this was written earlier than the paper was submitted). They further wanted to confirm with the professor in charge. Since then I did not hear from the journal.

I wrote them to proceed further if they do not get any response from the witnesses. Now I have not received any response from them for 2 months. Could you suggest further what to do to make them act on it?

I have provided email conversations between me and the professor to the journal. It clearly shows that I wrote the stuff before their submission. Email has time and date stamp. Journal finally replied and denied further action on the grounds that your professors did not reply. I told them they could ask me more questions to authenticate the complaint, but they were unwilling. Moreover, the editor-in-chief wrote to me this time and told me that they were doing a favor to me and giving their precious time.

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    Have you talked to the professor in charge of your place ? "I complained to the journal and forwarded the proof" Can you tell us what kind of proof is it ? What do you mean by "they do not get any response from the witnesses." ?
    – Nobody
    Nov 21 at 11:25
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    Judging from from reporting by Retraction Watch, two months is nothing. Public complaints on the service formerly known as Twitter seem to be the most effective way of achieving some progress with the journal. Meanwhile you should make an official complaint to the institution the plagiarist is affiliated with.
    – Roland
    Nov 21 at 11:26
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    Closely related, answer there might be directly applicable to your case as well: academia.stackexchange.com/questions/192917/…
    – Allure
    Nov 21 at 14:24
  • Is the journal reputable ? Please reply under comment section or in the question.
    – Nobody
    Nov 22 at 9:21
  • @Roland Change that comment to an answer. The institution is unlikely to respond promptly.
    – Anonymous Physicist
    Nov 22 at 12:02

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Plagiarism may be copyright infringement (not always, but if I take your material unchanged without your permission then it is). If that is the case and it is in the USA then you can send a DMCA takedown notice. I'd contact a lawyer to make sure you get it legally right.

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  • OP's institution may also provide legal support since this isn't only theft from OP but also from the institution.
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Nov 21 at 16:33
  • Good idea, might be more effective than a lengthy plagiarism dispute. +1
    – Captain Emacs
    Nov 22 at 1:38
  • @NOBODY... it happened under the watch of the professor in charge. They only made me write it for a different purpose. Initially, they supported me and told me that I could always complain if I wanted. When I did, they took U turn and told me to fight it by myself. Now Journal asked them about it and I do not know what they replied but since then journal has stopped replying to my emails. Proof showing that this stuff was written by me. Email conversations with the professor in charge regarding the write-up and the same as an attachment. Witnesses are the professor in charge and HOD.
    – Anjana Thakur
    Nov 22 at 8:00
  • @ROLAND... My professors are discouraging me now from escalating it further. If I complain to the institution body, then the faculty of my department will form a committee first and all of them are so much pleased with this person. But still to complain with the Institute is a suggestion to think upon. Thank you.
    – Anjana Thakur
    Nov 22 at 8:26
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    @AnonymousPhysicist, that is frankly nonsense. If you are in the USA, a DMCA takedown notice is very, very cheap. A fully working example is here: minclaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/… Took me 20 seconds to google. And > 90% chance of immediate success. If it is NOT taken down, then the publisher is now legally on the hook for copyright infringement. So any lawyer will smell money and help you.
    – gnasher729
    Nov 24 at 12:49

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