“Creativity is great,” goes an old saying, “but plagiarism is faster.” And nothing galls you faster than co-workers that steal your work and offer it as their own.

The next time this situation arises, present the culprit with the evidence of his or her intellectual theft, using any written documentation and witnesses who can back you up. However, tell the colleague you’re sure it’s just an unfortunate coincidence. This usually creates a win-win scenario because if it was indeed an accident, the person will immediately stop, and likely exercise more discretion in the future in terms of taking, or giving, credit where it’s due. If the transgression was intentional, confronting the person will serve as an official cease-and-desist order.

Depending on the severity of the problem — perhaps the person was promoted or recognized by the company as a result — you might wish to set the record straight with any other people or departments to which your colleague offered the pilfered ideas.

Don’t hesitate to act, no matter how big or little you think your idea was. If someone hot-wired your car, you’d report it stolen, no matter if it was a Mini Cooper or a Mercedes, right? Theft of your work or ideas is no different — and it could affect your life a lot more than a stolen automobile. “The number one rule of thieves,” said writer Jimmy Breslin, “is that nothing is too small to steal” — and that includes ideas, too.