1. Uncredited verbatim copying of a full paper. Results in a violation notice in the later article’s bibliographic record and a suspension of the offender’s IEEE publication privileges for up to five years.

2. Uncredited verbatim copying of a large portion (up to half) of a paper. Results in a violation notice in the later article’s bibliographic record and a suspension of publication privileges for up to five years.

3. Uncredited verbatim copying of individual elements such as sentences, paragraphs, or illustrations. May result in a violation notice in the later article’s bibliographic record. In addition, a written apology must be submitted to the original creator to avoid suspension of publication privileges for up to three years.

4. Uncredited improper paraphrasing of pages or paragraphs (by changing a few words or phrases or rearranging the original sentence order). Calls for a written apology to avoid suspension of publication privileges and a possible violation notice in the later article’s bibliographic record.

5. Credited verbatim copying of a major portion of a paper without clear delineation of who did or wrote what. Requires a written apology, and to avoid suspension, the document must be corrected.

The guidelines also make recommendations for dealing with repeated offenses.