GenWeb has a large site devoted to copyright issues which is well worth reading in its entirety. Kathleen. http://www.usgenweb.org/volunteers/copyright.html#Gen Copyright State. "What is covered by Copyright - There has been some discussion that authors/publishers cannot copyright facts. This is and isn't true. The original records cannot be copyrighted, but for example, a compilation of them can be. Anyone, however, is free to consult the original records and make their own compilation and are free to do whatever they want with them. But, even though someone abstracts/transcribes public records, they cannot be tossed about either. The law specifically recognizes the right of the person doing the work, in this case the transcriber, to be compensated for their work. An article, poem, etc. may be copyrighted individually, but it is also covered if the publication in which it appears is copyrighted. Accumulated genealogical information, to the extent that it is an expression, can be protected, but the facts in the information cannot be protected."