I have been working the past 3 years on a particular project. I made a poster for a conference to present a few months ago. A few months later, another individual in my group had nothing to present at a particular conference and so they copied and pasted my poster then deleted my name. The most disturbing thing is that my PI allowed this to happen and even submitted the abstract. Now this poster (my research) is hung in the hallways of my organization, for everyone to see, and my name is not even on it. I'm just a lowly lab technician, and a contractor at that. Should I just let it roll off my shoulders or should I say something? It's almost as if my group is giving me the finger.

Definitely say something!
This is NOT OK!!!!

Have you spoken to your PI about it?

it was the PI that allowed that to happen, right? bad communication in groups is never good. if you're in the uk plagiarism is severely punished... could be the ruin to the guy that presented it somewhere else and to your PI if you've got enough evidence to prove it.

So I asked my boss about it, and he said it was an accident and that my name should have definitely been on there. He's been pretty good to me in the past, so I don't feel like he would intentionally do anything malicious to me. I am, however, upset with the lab technician that put their name on my poster. They had ample time to review a predrafted copy for any mistakes and they should have been honest. I'm not going to ruin any careers over this (since it is just a poster), but the least they could do is take it down until the mistake is corrected.

Perhaps you should dig out your old poster and hang it next to the fake one, or better replace it...

yeah, now it's raining everywhere, use the one on the wall as an umbrella and put up yours

toejam on Tue Oct 18 15:44:38 2011 said:

or accidentally spill coffee on it esp if it's the cheap kind......it's gonna stain for sure....
and Arenhase, who's the first author on the fake poster? And what if it eventually leads to a publication, who'd be included or what are the arrangements for authorship?

Glad others see it my way. No, I"m not going to do anything vindictive; not very pragmatic due to the position I'm in.

I will probably be gone when this poster turns into a paper, and I'm not anticipating being made first author. Not because I don't deserve it but because he is unfair. Oh well, I learned a lot and am now a decent researcher; he can't take that from me.

also as decent researcher you need as many papers as possible and poster publications help too...therefore I'd insist on my rights here...

edited