At 12:45 AM 11/18/00 -0500, Thatcher family wrote: >One further point, anything found in a government document or official >government record is automatically public knowledge and part of the public >domain. A couple of comments. 1. This is true for works of the United States Government. It is NOT true for other countries and it is not true works of the United States in other countries. The prohibition on copyright protection for United States Government works is not intended to have any effect on protection of these works abroad. Works of the governments of most other countries are copyrighted. There are no valid policy reasons for denying such protection to United States Government works in foreign countries, or for precluding the Government from making licenses for the use of its works abroad. Historical and Revision Notes House Report No. 94-1476 2. Copyrighted material that appears in United States federal documents is still copyrighted. For instance, if a copyright court case cites material from the work that is alleged to have been infringed, that part of the work that is cited does NOT go into the public domain. Mike Goad http://www.cswnet.com/~sbooks/genealogy/copyright/copyright.htm

This is what I've assumed, but lately I've been trying to get a straight answer on this, and haven't been able to. (I suppose I could get one if I were to spend big buck$ to hire a copyright lawyer.) I'm in the process of writing a book which is based on records in the National Archives, specifically Civil War pension records. Those are comprised primarily of court affidavits and depositions, and also on the bureaucratic documents of the Pension Department, which was part of the Department of the Interior. One of my concerns is that the descendants of the soldiers might object to the facts that were documented in their pension applications. (Some of the personal data contained therein could potentially be construed as "embarrassing".) Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Jessie Blalock > At 12:45 AM 11/18/00 -0500, Thatcher family wrote: > >One further point, anything found in a government document or official > >government record is automatically public knowledge and part of the public > >domain. http://users.rootsweb.com/~tn4cav/index.html

Jessie, I appreciate your concern. But the information in question is public record and could be found by anyone willing to dig for it. The information to which you refer, while possibly embarrassing, just might be the clue that someone needs to break through that "brick wall." I was having trouble connecting a great great grandmother to her parents until I met a cousin from the same family. This cousin's ancestress, a sister to my great great grandmother, murdered her husband. Without the records of this murder neither she nor I would have been able to connect to my great great great grandparents. Margaret McCleskey, Arlington, TX Jessie Blalock wrote: > > This is what I've assumed, but lately I've been trying to get a > straight answer on this, and haven't been able to. (I suppose I > could get one if I were to spend big buck$ to hire a copyright > lawyer.) > > I'm in the process of writing a book which is based on records in > the National Archives, specifically Civil War pension records. > Those are comprised primarily of court affidavits and depositions, > and also on the bureaucratic documents of the Pension > Department, which was part of the Department of the Interior. > > One of my concerns is that the descendants of the soldiers might > object to the facts that were documented in their pension > applications. (Some of the personal data contained therein could > potentially be construed as "embarrassing".) > > Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. > > Jessie Blalock > > > At 12:45 AM 11/18/00 -0500, Thatcher family wrote: > > >One further point, anything found in a government document or official > > >government record is automatically public knowledge and part of the public > > >domain. > > http://users.rootsweb.com/~tn4cav/index.html > > ==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== > Support RootsWeb - http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > > ============================== > Join the RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: > Linking the world, one GEDCOM at a time. > http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com