I spotted an old thread that I'd somehow missed. Here are some helps on the issue of copyrighting family trees. You still own the copyright to the tree, even if it is published elsewhere. I know it's not clear regarding some people who publish compiled family trees on CD, but the LDS Church and its Pedigree Resource File is very clear on it. You may publish it elsewhere (Ancestry, MyTrees, WFT, etc.,) My best option for publishing would be the Pedigree Resource File provided by the LDS Church and whose master index can be found at http://www.familysearch.org/. That's because the person who provides the data has to upload it himself. Uploading is the only way to submit to this file. That's different from some companies who allegedly 'slurp up' data from elsewhere. The LDS Church also provides the data for the cost of manufacture. No profits, no gimmicks. Just your data preserved, and nothing else. Include your notes. Another plus: Your notes are only on the CDs, not the online index. But enough information is provided to make a fairly educated assumption that your target in your research is the right one, and you can buy the set it's on after it appears online. They even provide a way to find out if the file got on the CD, what CD it's on, and what set of five to buy. You need to submit a GEDCOM file via the net. Include notes, prepare group records (as part of creating the pedigree), and even pictures, etc., that would be useful to anyone finding the file. Include all relevant source notes and data. Also, don't worry if you don't have everything now, you can resend a new file with the updates for a future CD later. Also, these CDs are more widely available than any of the FTM CDs or similar products, as many LDS Family History Centers now have them. And at $20 for a set of five or $63 for the Discs 1-25 set its a steal price-wise. Also, they are ONLY available from the LDS Church as well. PLEASE submit your data via familysearch.org if you haven't already done so. Sorry for the 'shameless plug' in an artcle about copyright issues, but this is by far the best deal and the safest one for all concerned. Speaking of the copyright matters, the Church copyrights the CDs to prevent wholesale copying of large tracts of data from them. People can only take what is relevant to them and they cannot republish it wholesale. But you or your family can, if you wish. Someone did that with the IGI years ago, it was poorly done, and they got into some real trouble for what they did.