> I retrieved a segment of the 1880 Federal Census > from a microfilm at a historical library and > copied the section relating to an entire city. Is > there a problem if I were to type that Census > record into a database, using the same format as > the original Census and post it to the internet or > publish that data under my own copyright? > Aside from the fact that it wouldn't be copyrighted, there's no problem. Census data fails at least three tests of copyright: it is too old, it is public information that anyone can look up, and it is a Federal government document and thus "property of the people." If you republish the information (in whatever format), you may be entitled to copyright protection, but only towards whatever parts of the publication contain your original, creative expression. Copyright protects the original creative expression of authors; it does not protect the labor of the author or researcher. -- Tom Thatcher [email protected] <http://members.rpa.net/~thatcher/> <http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=thatcher-th>