Asked my husband, who is an attorney for the Air Force, and doesn't do IP work. Off the cuff, he said it's a tedious question that needs more detail, but generally work product is the property of whoever paid for it, unless that right is waived. That being said, a lot of genealogy records are in the public domain. For example, deeds, tax records and marriage licenses. If one were to compile or excerpt a list of marriage licenses into book or electronic form, then it would be the property of whoever did the work, unless they were being paid for it, or sold their rights. The next question is, what damage was done? While I can understand that a person might wish his ancestry kept private for various reasons, if it is published, what is the loss? And, how do you quantify it? If the person published a book, then maybe it is quantifiable. But what if they sent it to Family Tree Maker, for free? A persons ancestry might be embarrassing, but how do you get compensated for embarrassment? I guess, in the end, maybe you need to be careful about whom you hire, and have an understanding of what is to be done with the information they find. Amy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Eaton" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 3:46 PM Subject: Re: Research question > Hi Joy... > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: September 16, 2002 15:43 > Subject: Research question > > > | If you pay a person to do research for you because you are out of state, > who > | owns the intellectual property of this research? Who has the right to > | publish this information? Just curious. > > This is one of those nasty questions lawyers love. Logic and common sense > tells me that if I am commissioning a project, I own it; however, lawyers > will argue otherwise. I would assume that if pay Joe Doe to find out where > Jack Flack was born and to get a copy of his birth certificate that you > could then compile that information into a useful Family Tree. > > Waiting to hear form some lawyer types....<g> > > Dave... > > >

Joy - George Morgan wrote a column which states that before you actually hires someone,they should have a written contract. He states in part: Forming the Contractual Relationship You would never enter into an agreement with a contractor to build a house for you without a written contract. Why wouldn't you formalize an agreement with a researcher in writing too? Written agreements define the relationship between you and the researcher and should include, at a minimum, the following: --- Names of persons entering into the contract and how they may be contacted (snail mail, e-mail, telephone, fax, etc.) --- Clear description of the research work to be conducted and its scope (subjects, location, what information is desired, time period(s), and other specific details) --- The term of the relationship --- Costs (hourly, travel, per diem, copies, incidentals) and payment arrangements --- Description of any subcontracting work to be done and terms --- Reporting content and specific format(s) of deliverable(s) --- Ownership of the resultant work product --- Frequency of status reports, medium and format --- Contingency and cancellation terms for each party A written contractual agreement signed by both parties sets the expectations for everyone involved. It also serves as a legally binding document to protect everyone's interests, one that may be taken into an arbitration session or a court of law if necessary. You can read the whole article at http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/george/63.asp There is another good article at http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/eastman/3714.asp - This page will also give you URL's for further discussion. Hope all is well. **************************************************** from Rita - who is researching the Singles family of Delaware ****************************************************