At 08:12 AM 3/4/00 -0600, [email protected] wrote: >If the book has a copyright dated 1994, why doesn't it cover the entire >book? >Alexandra The material from 1920 is in the public domain. That copyright is lapsed and is beyond the point where it could possibly have been renewed. See the following from my web-site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikegoad/html/copyright5.htm Just Because a Work is Copyrighted Doesn't Mean Everything in it is A work's copyright protection can only be extended to those parts of a work that are original to the author. When the author clothes facts or ideas with an original description or other original collection of words, then this written expression may be protected. However, the underlying facts or ideas may be copied by others, but not the precise words used to present them. If a compiler adds no written expression and only lets the facts speak for themselves, the protection of copyright may only be extended to the originality of the selection and/or arrangement, if there is any originality. One aspect of this that is often misunderstood is that the copyright of a work in no way can have an impact on the status of pre-existing material. If the work contains information that is in the public domain or is copyrighted by another individual, then that portion of the work is still in the public domain or still covered by the copyright of the other individual, as the case may be. This is a very important point in genealogy. The majority of information in any genealogical work is in the public domain by virtue of being facts or presumed facts. The copyright status of the work that they are contained in does not remove them from being in the public domain. The facts contained in existing compilations, which is what most genealogical works are, "may be freely copied because copyright protects only the elements that owe their origin to the compiler -- the selection, coordination, and arrangements of facts." (Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc.) Other aspects of copyright are covered at my web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikegoad/copyright1.htm Mike >On Fri, 03 Mar 2000 21:34:53 -0700 "W. David Samuelsen" ><[email protected]> writes: > > only the old part. > > > > W. David Samuelsen > > > > Adina Dyer wrote: > > > > > > I have a question regarding a book which was published in 1920. > > Its copyright has expired, but it has been reprinted and one > > publishing company has put a copyright date on it of 1971, and another >put a > > > copyright date of 1994 on it. I've seen the original book and as > > far as I can tell, the only thing that has been added to it is an >index. > > > Is it legal for me to transcribe parts of this book for my web site? > > > > > > Thanks for any help. > > > > > > Adina > > > > > > ==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== > > > Freepages, that is free web pages > > > http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/press/freepages.html > > > > > > ============================== > > > Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: > > > Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time. > > > http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/ > > > > > > ==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== > > Support RootsWeb - > > http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > > > > ============================== > > Personalized Mailing Lists: never miss a connection again. > > http://pml.rootsweb.com/ > > Brought to you by RootsWeb.com. > > > > >==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== >Check out the new communities at RootsWeb >http://www.communities.rootsweb.com/ > >============================== >Free Web space. ANY amount. ANY subject. >RootsWeb's Freepages put you in touch with millions. >http://cgi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/acctform.cgi