PILGRIMS, PIONEERS & ALIENS

By Diana L. Smith

Responsible Genealogy: Copyrights, Privileges and Responsibilities

As genealogists, we rely on previously-recorded information. It can be very difficult to determine who "owns" the data we find, particularly when there has not been an emphasis on copyright infringement protection in the past. The growth of the Internet is compounding this problem, at the same time authors are becoming more conscious of their rights. What do you need to know as a good genealogical researcher?

This is a complex area, on which even lawyers disagree about the details. This article is intended to give some broad guidelines on the use of ALL published material - that includes print, audio, video and electronic media. When in doubt, ERR ON THE SIDE OF THE AUTHOR!

Definitions

Here are a few of the terms that will frequently be seen in discussions of copyrights:

Copyright - the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit any work (literary, musical, or artistic), in any form (printed, audio, video, etc.).
Diligence - necessary care and caution
Trademark - any mark, name, symbol, etc., used by a manufacturer or merchant to distinctly distinguish his goods from those produced by others. Trademarks must be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office to assure exclusive use by the owner.
Service Mark - a proprietary term registered with the Patent and Trademark Office to distinctly identify a name used for a service or organization.
Publication - the act of publishing any work, such as a book, magazine, graphic, map, piece of music, etc.
Infringement - a violation or breach of a right, law or obligation.
Public domain - the status of a literary work or invention which is no longer protected by a copyright or patent (such protection has expired or the work was never covered by such protection).
Publish - to issue material for sale or distribution to the public.
Derivative - not original; a work in a different form from the original, but nonetheless based on the original work.
Patent - the exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor to his invention for a certain period of time.

Rights of the Author

The author (or owner of the copyright if it has been transferred) has a number of specific rights including:

the right to reproduce and distribute copies to the public
the right to control public performance or display
the right to prepare derivative works, such as translations into a foreign language or another medium.

The author may transfer or sell these rights, or may grant a license for one time use of one (or more) of the rights.

There may or may not be a specific indication of the copyright on a copyrighted work. If it has been published, it is probably the property of the owner and protected from infringement. If the work has been published in the last 75 years, assume that it is covered by the copyright laws.

Responsibility of the User

The reader has the responsibility to use reasonable diligence to determine the owner of the copyright prior to any protected use. You must obtain the permission of the owner to reproduce, copy or quote a copyrighted work. Yes, I said you must obtain permission. It's not enough to cite the source if you are going to publish a work which includes a quotation from someone else's work .... you must obtain their permission.

Note that owning a copy of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other work does not give the possessor the copyright, or even any rights to the copyright. This means that just because you purchased a copy of a piece of software or a book you may NOT freely publish the information contained therein in whole or in part (so you can't make copies of the software or include all or part of the book without permission).

Works that consist entirely of information that is public domain and contain no original authorship (for example: lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources) are not covered by copyright laws - and may not be copyrighted. In other words, if you copy a table on the census from a government publication, you may NOT copyright that information - it is not yours.

If you have used a Family History Center you may have seen the notice usually posted near the photocopy machine mentioning "fair use". This is an exception to the copyright laws which allows for the use of materials in certain types of applications such as private study, scholarly research, or teaching. In these cases, it MAY not be necessary to obtain permission, but the source MUST still be cited. Note that publishing a family history does not appear to fall into this category. Thus, if you are citing someone else's research in your family history you MUST obtain their permission.

General Guidelines

Based on the reading I have done on this subject, here are my suggestions for safeguarding your rights and the rights of others:

Whenever you find information of interest to your genealogical research make a full and complete citation of the source in your notes, even if you never intend to publish.
If you provide this information to another, make sure you include the citation.
If you publish the information (even a "short-run" self-published photocopied book), request permission to use the quotation. Most authors will be pleased to grant you a "limited license" to use the information if you ask.
Public domain information (generally anything produced by the U.S. federal government, commonly known facts, or material published in the US more than 75 years ago) may be cited, but the source must be indicated so others can verify the information and know that it IS in fact not copyrighted material.
As a writer, carefully read any contracts you are asked to sign. If in doubt about any of the conditions, ASK before you sign. If in doubt, see a lawyer.
Include a notice on each work for which you own the copyright. This should include the © symbol, the year in which it was first produced in that medium, and the name of the copyright holder.
If you are considering suing someone for infringement of your copyright, you will need to register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright office before you can file your suit. [Contact a lawyer experienced with copyrights for guidance.]

Further Reading (please!)

Web Sites:

Library of Congress Copyright Information Site. Copyright information for writers and others from the U.S. Copyright Office. http://www.loc.gov/copyright

When Works Pass Into the Public Domain. A helpful chart by Professor Tom Field, Franklin Pierce Law Center, showing U.S. copyright information. http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm

Cyndi's List (Copyright). http://www.cyndislist.com/

McClure, Rhonda R. "Mistake or Misdemeanor?" Ancestry Magazine, January/February 2000, Vol. 18, No. 1. http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/ancmag/1557.asp

Smith, Drew. "Plagiarism in the Digital World." Digital Genealogy, 18 July 2000. http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/digital/1969.asp

Ardolina, Rosemary Muscarella. 'Copyright Issues: An Open Letter from the Author of "Old Calvary Cemetery—New Yorkers Carved in Stone"'. Ancestry Daily News, 6/7/2000. http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/1506.asp

Neill, Michael John. "Be Thorough and Keep Your Eyes Open", Ancestry Daily News, 8 February 1999. http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/2575.asp

Books and Magazine Articles:

Kozak, Ellen M. Every Writer's Guide to Copyright and Publishing Law. Second Edition. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1996.

Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Revised edition. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, Inc., 1997.

Christian, Peter. Web Publishing for Genealogy. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2000.

Kelley, Tanya. "The E-easy Way to Get Published." Genealogical Computing, Spring 2000. Provo, UT: myfamily.com, Inc., 2000.

DeLucien, Jan. "Copyright and Wrong: What to Know Before You Publish." Genealogical Computing, Summer 2000. Provo, UT: myfamily.com, Inc., 2000.

Other Resources:

Repeat Performance (aka AudioTapes.com) records many presentations at national and regional genealogical conferences. These are available on audio cassette for about $8.50 each on-site, through mail order, or through their web site. A search engine also allows you to search for other presentations by title or presenter. http:/www.repeatperformance.com/ or http://www.audiotapes.com Specifically look for these:

Howells, Cyndi. "Internet, Copyright, and the Professional Genealogist". Recorded 9/6/2000 at A World of Records: FGS, Salt Lake City, UT. FGS00-A-33.
Dumas, David W. "Do You Copy? What You Need To Know About Copyright". Recorded 10/22/1998 at The Fifth New England Regional Genealogical Conference. GCNE9820.
Rencher, David. "Data Privacy vs. Copyright." Recorded 1/23/1998 at Developing the Partnership Genealogy and Technology. DPGT-S2698
Blosser, G. Harley. "Copyright and Your Society in the Age of the Internet." Recorded 8/11/1999 at Meet Me In St. Louis: FGS, St. Louis, MO. FGSSLW9.

I am always interested in hearing from readers, so if you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please email me at: talkgenealogy@aol.com. However, I regret that I am unable to help readers with specific research.

Happy Hunting!

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10-Dec-2000