STEWART-L Archives

From: "Jim Petermann" <>
Subject: Re: [STEWART-L] Posting Transcribed Material / Copyright
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 17:01:41 -0800
References: <005301c1d37c$2cc68e20$bc869e40@computer> <000b01c1d38d$4fb50f40$0300000a@JimPetermann> <3C9F579B.994A08C6@tc.umn.edu>

Fair Use does indeed make it legal to copy material for
research purposes under strictly rules.

BUT: it is not true that you can "transcribe ANY material."
You can transcribe parts of publications relevant to your
research, but you cannot copy entire books, for instance, or
entire collections just to distribute on the off chance they
might be useful to someone

Section 107 of the Copyright Act: "To determine whether
the use of a work is a fair use, the following four factors
are to be considered: purpose and character of the use,
nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and
substantiality of the portion used in relation to the whole,
and the effect of the use on the potential market"

It is "the portion used in relation to the whole," and "the
effect of the use on the potential market" that get people
in trouble, and here on the mailing list we will not allow
wide publication of any material that might infringe on an
original author's right to profit from his/her work.

Some useful url's on Copyright Law:
http://groton.k12.ct.us/mts/pt2a.htm
http://arl.cni.org/info/frn/copy/timeline.html

This is one of those issues that starts flame wars, and we
won't have any of those discussions here. Just be advised
that we prefer to err on the side of the author and of
caution.

Jim Petermann
listowner


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Stewart" <>
To: "Jim Petermann" <>
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 9:00 AM
Subject: Re: [STEWART-L] Posting Transcribed Material /
Copyright


> I am not a lawyer, but I study copyright law and other
issues of intellectual
> property in my PhD program. According to the Fair Use
Doctrine, under the United
> States Copyright Act, it is NOT illegal to transcribe any
material (even those
> materials currently protected for one reason or another by
copyright) that is
> subsequently used for the expressed purposes of research,
such as for genealogy
> studies, as long as the transcribed materials are offered
free of charge.
>
> Happy posting,
> Mark
>
>
>
>
> Jim Petermann wrote:
>
> > Any material posted to the mailing list should be in
plain
> > text format. No Word or other word processing formats,
> > please..
> >
> > Also, before posting transcribed material, be sure you
are
> > not violating copyright.
> >
> > Finally, remember to limit the size of posted messages.
It's
> > best to break up long postings into a series of shorter
ones
> > of around 300 words or less.
> >
> > With those basic rules in mind, post away.
> >
> > Jim Petermann
> > listowner, Stewart-L
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Dick Stewart" <>
> > > I recently transcribed three pages from SCM, Vol 17,
No.
> > 7, p. 124, 5 & 6. This was done in MSWord. I believe the
> > STEWART-L might use the transcription, but I am unsure
as to
> > your format needs. Perhaps a simple text file such as
> > NotePad or Word Pad is necessary. Please advise. Dick
> > Stewart, Carefree, AZ.
> >
> > ==== STEWART Mailing List ====
> > Share your Stewart GEDCOM files with other Stewarts at
StewartLines
> > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~stewartlines
> > A project of this mail list.
> >
> > ==============================
> > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online
genealogy records, go to:
> >
http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1
237
>

This thread:

• [STEWART-L] Posting Transcribed Material by "Dick Stewart" <>
  • Re: [STEWART-L] Posting Transcribed Material by "Jim Petermann" <>