According to Broderbund software, no one "owns" surnames. However, other details surrounding that individual such as service in ARW or CW, whether they came to an area by boat or covered wagon, family legends, etc. are covered by copyright and not freely transferable. Those of us who submit to FTM for the World Family Tree project were warned to make certain that there is no information in our notes that we would wish to later publish because once FTM transfers everything to CD and the World Family Tree, then those items become the property of Broderbund software who owns the copyright on the WFT. If someone "owned" the surnames, then none of us would get anywhere, would we? This is a part of their guidelines, as I understand them, for working with their copyrights and developing our family trees. However, if we take the surnames from them, then we need to give recognition of that. Julie PennaDutch@aol.com wrote: > every once in awhile someone who has never made an unauthorized > photocopy > posts a lecture on copyright. will they or someone else explain to me > what I > don't understand about the following: > > Over a year ago there was this mail list located at maiser and a > webpage I > didn't announce or put time into. There was also the "Ruckel family > history > homepage". kraig ruckel was a member of this group. > > Some months ago he changed the name to "Palatine and Pennsylvania > Dutch > homepage" > > The problem is that not only does he essentially borrow the name and > concept > of this list, he has in fact,without my permission, posted my > compilations of > surnames onto his webpage with the caution "all rights reserved..." I > have > since told him to remove the pirated work(how many others?) which he > has > never done. Yet he clamors for webpage awards. how nice, if only it > was his > product. (since kraig only borrows my compilation, his list never gets > > corrected. it is filled with defunct and changed addresses of PD > listmembers) > > There was a to-do when I told him to remove everything he has borrowed > from > this mail list and we lost some listmembers who inexplicably got in > the > middle. despite being told by them to remove their surnames from his > page, he > has not. So for those who enjoy plagiarism/copyright debate please > tell me > what I don't understand and tell me why ruckel deserves accolades for > "his" > work > > rod > > ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== > New? Looking for a quick connection? Visit the surnames list > associated with this mail list at > http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pdlsurnames.html ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ==== Abbreviations---PD=Pennsylvania Dutch, PMH=Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage magazine, MFH=Mennonite family History magazine, MRJ=Mennonite Research Journal, LMHS=Lancaster Mennonite Hist. Society. This and more list info at: http://members.aol.com/PennaDutch/pennadutch.html