APG-L Archives

From: Joan Lowrey <>
Subject: [APG] Question on ownship of work
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 13:34:55 -0800

This question is related in a way to Jeff's question regarding who owns the
research that you do for a client.

When you produce a book for a client, who is named as the author? The
client who supplied some of the data, wrote nothing, but paid you to do
it, or you who did all of the genealogical research, analysis, and
compilation, wrote all text, and formatted all the pages?

In one case, the client wrote the first 300 pages on his close family
(which included much material that I found for him) and gathered all the
250 or so photos. I researched and wrote the next 500 pages covering his
ancestry. I named the client as the author of the whole book, but included
information in the research section that I was the genealogist.

We are not "ghost writers," but are producing a professional work product
that the client is incapable of producing. Maybe the authorship should
say, "By (the genealogist), commissioned by (the client)"? Or...?

Joan Lowrey

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• [APG] Question on ownship of work by Joan Lowrey <>