Who "owns" the data is just a moot point, in most cases, anyway.
Practically every piece of data you put out there is in the public domain.
You can't copyright facts. You can only copyright the presentation of them.
Most anything you put out on the web *anywhere* -- including on USGenWeb --
can be taken without notice or permission by anyone and used as they see
fit....including published and sold.
If you have a problem with that, then best you just keep your data in a
drawer at home.
Your copyright notice is only a notice saying you THINK you are entitled to
the rights....EVEN if you pay your $20 and register your claim to
copyright. You won't know whether you actually have any rights until YOU
take the matter to court and go through an expensive lawsuit to see if your
claim holds. And if all you're dealing with are facts, then probably it's a
waste of your money.
All the GenConnect boards clearly state the information posted belongs to
the submitter...the same way the NC and USGenWeb pages state this.
But such statements don't really amount to much.
I've begun making my copyright notices clear....."Format, indexing and
layout © by me. Data contained herein, however, is in the public domain."
It makes no difference AT ALL whether this stuff is on a GenConnect board
or on your own private query board on your website. It can still be used
and published by others.
This is precisely why a number of people refuse to put their data anywhere
on the net.
If you feel strongly about this; if you're worried about someone using what
you've collected in their own publication, then you should not put your
data on the net. Period. In other words, don't have anything to do with
online genealogy, be it USGenWeb or anything else.
Sandy
sandyhb(a)earthlink.net
------------------------------------->>>>>>
"diane k" <skunk(a)coastalnet.com> wrote:
>If UsGenWEb is going to provide the sources (researchers) for the
>GenConnect board data, then is seems to me that UsGenWEb is entitled to a
>contract guaranteeing that that data belongs to (1) the submitter and (2)
>the UsGenWeb Project. If we aren't going to do this, we need to think about
>whether, if ever, that data can be sold by that outside service.
>diane