Re: Genealogy and copyrights

On Wed, 23 Oct 1996, Jett Hanna <jettplane[_at_]aol.com>
>
> I am an attorney who is not a specialist in copyright law. I am
> working with a group of persons interested in genealogy who are
> concerned about how their work on the internet might be affected by
> copyright laws. I would appreciate responses directed to me at
> jettplane[_at_]aol.com; I am not a member of this list.
>
> The problem is this: a practice has developed in genealogy groups,
> composed mostly of amateur genealogists, of asking for "lookups" of
> information. A lookup means that someone who has a book will look
> up information, usually names the genealogist is looking for, and
> give that information to the person requesting the lookup. In many
> cases the lookup will be from a copyrighted book. I believe that in
> most cases there is no problem: the information returned is a
> reference to another work, such as a census, or is a minimal amount
> of information. On occasion, however, numerous copies are made.
>
> Two basic questions:
>
> Does a web site which indicates that lookups are available from persons
> with a book bear any responsibility for copyright violations committed
> by the two participants in the lookup? My personal opinion is no, but
> I'm no expert.
>
> Are there clear restrictions, such as number of names searched, no
> photocopying of pages, etc. that could assure that lookups would not
> violate copyright laws? I believe that if the site admonishes the
> participants not to violate the law, much as copy machine centers do,
> then they will be ok.

To the extent that a lookup service does not decrease the demand for sale of the primary source it may be fair use. An example may be sharing information among family or friends. Offering, or advertising, a lookup service which has the effect of reducing sales of the copyrighted book would IMHO definitely not be fair use.

George Abbott
<glabbott[_at_]hawk.syr.edu> Received on Fri Nov 01 1996 - 04:59:29 GMT