Hi Ed -- Don't give up hope yet!! You CAN and SHOULD take action to stop further infringement of your pre-eminent copyright. First... I'm no lawyer... and I don't live in the US... but when I last looked into the matter of copyright several years ago, I was told by a lawyer here in Canada, something to the effect that it is "common law" in virtually every country with copyright laws that it is not "legally" necessary for the original author of a work to place a "notice of copyright" on it. The "right" simply exists as a matter of law and belongs to the author. (same thing with works of art -- much more enforceable if the work is also signed, however -- and today, even with software programs -- all termed "intellectual property"). He went on to inform me that the reason for placing a "formal notice" of a copyright on a work is that it becomes easier in a court of law to "prove one's case" in the event of bringing a lawsuit for copyright infringement before the courts. A key element to be proven in any such case is normally that your claim to ownership can be proven to pre-date the infringer's claim. In your case, you have the "deposit" records of the organizations with whom you placed copies of you work, among many other sources of proof that you no doubt still possess (working drafts, notes etc.) It also helps to be able to show how your work found its way into the hands of the infringer. Finally, you still own the copyright... despite someone else's (invalid) claim. You should contact them and inform them as to your ownership of copyright and have all the credits etc restored... ... First, however, I'd talk to a lawyer... As I understand the profession in both the US and Canada, there is often no charge for the first 20-30 minutes to discuss your case and determine its merits. Copyright infringement is not new... there have been some really big cases in the US... tho' your work might be in a somewhat smaller "league of its own", and not give rise to any large contingency fees.... but DO check into who has infringed on your copyright... they might have deeper pockets than you think. Good luck...// Gord HINES (in Regina SK Canada) EHarr76546@cs.com wrote: > Subject: Isn't this PLAGIARISM? And what do we do about it? Resent-Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 12:46:10 -0700 (PDT) Resent-From: GEN-NYS-L@rootsweb.com Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 15:45:29 EDT From: EHarr76546@cs.com To: GEN-NYS-L@rootsweb.com > PLAGIARIZE - "to take and use as one's own the writing or > ideas of another" - The American Heritage Dictionary. > > In 1994 I compiled a list of the 4000+ burials since 1816 in > Evergreen Hill Cemetery in Corfu, NY. Data came from several > sources - ALL cited in an "Acknowledgements" and discussed in > an "Introduction". Also included are computer-drawn plot "maps" > and a brief history of the cemetery (with source citations). > All known burials are tabulated alphabetically with married > women cross-listed by maiden name when known. Individual data > include death/interment date, grave location referenced to the > "maps", and in many cases, birth date/place, military service, > spouse(s) and limited genealogical information (mostly on my > family members). > > Monetary reward was never my goal. Complimentary copies of the > 90 page product were deposited at the Genesee Co. Hist. Library, > at the Richmond Mem. Lib. in Batavia, and with the E.H. Cemetery > Assn. Copies were also given to some individuals who expressed > an interest in the work. I have also done, and will continue to > do, many look-ups for fellow genealogists. (My email > address has been listed on the Genesee Co. Genweb page > cemetery look-ups for a couple of years!) > > Where does PLAGIARISM come into the picture? While surfing the > Web, I visited <http://www.rootsweb.com/~nygags/index.htm> and > followed the links to Genesee County Cemeteries. There I was > surprised to find all of my Evergreen Hill Cemetery data (except > the maps) duplicated, including my family's genealogical > information. The cemetery's history is there (with no source > citations), but gone are the "Acknowledgements" and > "Introduction" sections and ANY reference to me as the compiler > of the information. It appears that the only things added are > the announcement "Copyright (c) 1998 by [name withheld]" and > a warning that copies may not be made without permission of > the copyrighter. > > I did not copyright my material. A mistake I guess! But, > doesn't courtesy demand what the law apparently does not - that > the source of information be properly cited when it is reproduced? > Will other volunteers be willing to spend months digging through > handwritten records, walking through cemeteries, checking and > rechecking the data, and compiling their results only to have > someone else reproduce it all with a copyright? Do we need to > proceed with a degree of caution that would make a Philadelphia > lawyer smile? Or can we do our work, exchange information, > discuss, give credit where credit is due, and all benefit in > the long run? > > Ed Harrison > EJHarrison@compuserve.com > > P.S. I have also compiled the burials in Alabama Center > Cemetery, Alabama, NY. Copies of this have not been > distributed or placed on the Internet (yet). However, > I will do look-ups for anyone interested. > > ==== GEN-NYS Mailing List ==== > Have you considered joining the Rootsweb Genealogical Data > Cooperative? > http://www.rootsweb.com/