Plain TexIn regard to obituaries, you cannot post verbatim transcripts of
obits that fall under copyright protection, unless you can
provide express, written permission to do so from the copyright
holder. In general, anything published on or after January 1, 1923 should be
considered to have copyright protection. Anything prior
to that date is OK.
If you have an obituary that is copyrighted, you can still abstract
the factual information for posting to the board...facts cannot be
copyrighted, but their presentation (in the form of an obit) can.
Thus, you can extract the individuals name, birth date and place,
death date and place, family members and relationships etc. and send
that information.
Deeds and wills etc. are public documents and are not protected.
Cemetery records are public information. However it would be appropriate to get permission
from compilers of cemetery information (such as the DAR records) before providing them to
the web site. Again, the facts (cemetery location, dates, etc.) cannot be copyrighted, but
the presentation, in the form of a book of cemetery readings, can be. When unsure, always
ask permission.
Tim Singleton, tsingleton(a)iclub.org
105 Nancy Drive
Richmond, KY 40475-8613
USGenWeb Coordinator
Adams Co., Indiana -
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inadams/
Randolph Co., Indiana -
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inrandol/