>>>>>>>And finally, I am always very wary about any organization/site >>>>>>>which Ancestry has its fingers in. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>[email protected] >>>>>> >>>>>>However, you will probably find that most other people researching >>>>>>the surname will be reluctant to "donate" their research data to >>>>>>another person for what could be their personal gain. One thing >>>>>>about a company like Ancestry/RootsWeb that attracts contributors >>>>>>and posters on their lists is that the data they post there doesn't >>>>>>belong to the list "administrator" or the company--the AUP assures >>>>>>us all of that. The data you post to a RootsWeb mailing list >>>>>>remains the property of the author/poster who is merely giving >>>>>>permission for the company to house and archive the data for future >>>>>>researchers to find. >>>>>> >>>>>>Joan <[email protected]> >>>>> >>>>>Under international copyright laws what you say is true of ANY list >>>>>so stop being stupid. >>>>> >>>>>Ye Old One <[email protected]> >>>> >>>>Copyright law is almost entirely irrelevant with respect to *who* >>>>has *what* rights with respect to content posted at most non-hobby >>>>sites. >>>> >>>>"Dr. Brian Leverich" <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>Copyright always rests with the author, that is a matter of >>>international law. >>> >>>Ye Old One >> >>UNLESS the author assigns that copyright to someone else. You can >>assign your copyright intentionally for fee, or accidentally for >>free. You have to read the fine print *before* you upload anything. >> >>However, this is a peripheral issue, but by now I've lost track of >>what your original question _was_... >> >>Cheryl Singhals <[email protected]> > > What confuses me is to what benefit the periodic rhetoric about what > my copyrights are, when the there is little, if any enforcement and > for certain there is less than a whisper of a chance that I could > afford to litigate. > > A. John Birkholz [email protected] In US and British law there's a provision that a right not claimed or exercised ceases to exist -- it's why the neighbor behind us made a point of mentioning once a month that our garden shed was too close the property line. (g) And, of course, if one were to pony up the Registration fee, there is a statuatory fine for violation. Most folks can't afford to fight a losing battle, so an hour of legal-time just for him to write a letter ...? Cheryl singhals <[email protected]>