© Copyright and Your Rights ©
This page is available as a collection point for data relating to the copyrighting and copylefting .
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Copyrighting Your Data
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Copyrighted Information
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Copyright Introduction
and General Information (see disclaimer)
Genealogical and historical researchers are faced with the issue of copyright infringement by the nature of the pastime itself. Historical data has to have been published in one form or the other or it obviously can't be researched. When a person is presented with a viably copyrighted source document they must make a determination on fair use of the information provided. I have seen so many questions regarding this problem I felt it would benefit others to provide the following information regarding copyright and your rights. I am a United States citizen so the thoughts I present here are geared toward United States laws. They will differ from country to country but the general principles would still apply.
The shoe is also quite frequently on the other foot when the genealogist or historian wishes to publish their findings in some fashion. This may take the form of a formally published book, an informal document or even a web site. It is my intent to provide some insight into this aspect of copyright as well.
Copyright is loosely defined as the exclusive right to produce or reproduce (copy), to perform in public or to publish an original literary or artistic work. Copyrighted work can be a literary work, musical work, dramatic work, pictorial work, graphic work, motion picture, audiovisual work, sound recording, or a computer program/data. Facts, ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles or discoveries cannot themselves be copyrighted. The copyrighted work must be original. An original work that closely resembles other works can be copyrighted so long as the similarity between the two works is not the result of copying.
"International copyright" does not exist in the literal sense of the words and depends on that particular country's national laws. Most countries offer protection to foreign works under conditions defined by international copyright treaties andconventions. The United States maintains copyright relations (circular 38a) with a number of countries.
How to © Copyright Your Information
(see disclaimer)Section 407 of the copyright law does however require the "owner of copyright or of the exclusive right of publication" in a work published in the United States to deposit the required number of copies in the Copyright Office within 3 months of the date of such publication.
Why Copyright Your Information
(see disclaimer)Use of the copyright notice is recommended because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed, if the work carries a proper notice, the court will not allow a defendant to claim "innocent infringement"--that is, that they did not realize that the work is protected. (A successful innocent infringement claim may result in a reduction in damages that the copyright owner would otherwise receive.)
When to Copyright Your Information
(see disclaimer)Registration may be made at any time within the life of the copyright. When a work has been registered in unpublished form, it is not necessary to make another registration when the work becomes published (the published edition can be registered, if desired).
If made before or within 5 years of publication, registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate. If registration is made within 3 months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney's fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.
Copyright Limitations on Your Data
(see disclaimer)The person(s) to whom a copyright has been lawfully granted, have the sole right and liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing and vending such works in whole or in part. Works created on or after January 1, 1978 endure through the lifetime of the author and fifty years after the author's death. Works made for hire endure for a term of seventy-five years from the year of their first publication, or a term of one hundred years from the year of their creation, whichever expires first.
Again I will mention that international copyright does NOT exist and is dictated by each country's laws. When and if you publish your information on a publicly available web site, it is now accessible by anyone with access to the web in any country. So the next time you are vacationing in Afghanistan and see an unauthorized copy of your life's work being sold on a street corner -- don't get too upset.
Fair Use of Data and Information Sources
(see disclaimer)The fair use (17 USC Sec. 107) of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction, copies or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as comment, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. The following factors should be considered when determining such use:
After a period of 75 years from the year of first publication of a work, or a period of 100 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first, any person who obtains from the Copyright Office a certified report that the records provided disclose nothing to indicate that the author of the work is living, or died less than fifty years before, is entitled to the benefit of a presumption that the author has been dead for at least fifty years. Reliance in full faith upon this presumption shall be a complete defense to any action for infringement under this title.
Disclaimers - Implied or Otherwise
(see disclaimer) J
Copyright Links and Information Sources