I talked with a knowledgeable person at the local newspaper. He told me that newspapers are only allowed to copyright an obituary if they wrote it, as in the case with a well-known person. I know that frequently a person simply supplies information to a funeral director who writes the obituary. This happens about 75% of the time according to one funeral director. It is interesting that the local newspapers will not accept an obituary except from a funeral home, because false obituaries have been published or submitted at some times in the past. So, the obituary is usually in the funeral director's words. I phoned two funeral directors and one told me that even at the local association meetings this subject has not come up in 30 years. I was told that funeral directors do not claim a copyright. A second funeral director agreed that he doesn't claim a copyright. Locally, there are three newspapers. One accepts obituaries only if they are paid items. They call them ads. They print as much as you want to pay for. The other two papers publish them free, but edit the obituary to their style and length. Would a family member own the copyright even if they didn't write the obituary, but simply supplied the information? Does the fact that they paid for it make any difference? If so, what happens in the case of the free placement in some newspapers of obituaries written by the funeral director? Cliff

When my parents died, the funeral home did indeed send the obituary to the newspaper. They sent the copy that I provided. Then someone from the newspaper called me and we went through the information, for clarification, prior to publication. Margaret Cliff Lamere wrote: > > I talked with a knowledgeable person at the local newspaper. He told me that newspapers are only allowed to copyright an obituary if they wrote it, as in the case with a well-known person. > > I know that frequently a person simply supplies information to a funeral director who writes the obituary. This happens about 75% of the time according to one funeral director. It is interesting that the local newspapers will not accept an obituary except from a funeral home, because false obituaries have been published or submitted at some times in the past. > > So, the obituary is usually in the funeral director's words. I phoned two funeral directors and one told me that even at the local association meetings this subject has not come up in 30 years. I was told that funeral directors do not claim a copyright. A second funeral director agreed that he doesn't claim a copyright. > > Locally, there are three newspapers. One accepts obituaries only if they are paid items. They call them ads. They print as much as you want to pay for. The other two papers publish them free, but edit the obituary to their style and length. > > Would a family member own the copyright even if they didn't write the obituary, but simply supplied the information? Does the fact that they paid for it make any difference? If so, what happens in the case of the free placement in some newspapers of obituaries written by the funeral director? > > Cliff > > ==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== > Support RootsWeb - http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > > ============================== > Visit Ancestry.com for a FREE 14-Day Trial and enjoy access to the #1 > Source for Family History Online. Go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/subscribe/subscribetrial1y.asp?sourcecode=F11HB