At 08:29 AM 11/8/97 -0500, you wrote: >i think you miss the point of the question. >it's not about "owning" surnames(that has never been an issue) it's about >owning my labor. > >If I spend hundreds of hours compiling them over 17 months does a former >listmember, contrary to my clear instructions, have the right to take my >work(compilations-cemetery, church records or any other- are copyright >protected, got nothing to do with ownership of the "surnames") and post them >to his website. his website is an ego-driven effort to get website awards. > >My wife who doesn't work for broderbund but is an attorney and has confirmed >a big "no". Actually it was a rhetorical question. For the benefit of the listmembers, the above is entirely correct - you do have a legal copyright on the medium you put your data into, and it has nothing to do with 'owning' surnames. As an internet professional - one of the scary, pocket-protector type geeks who keeps the whole mess running day to day - I would encourage you to get in touch with the administrators at the ISP who are hosting the material stolen from you. Explain that they are hosting a copyright violation, and you want it forcibly removed. A reputable and honest administrator will respond to your request. If the administrator does not, determine who the "upstream providor" is for the offending ISP. Complain to the upstream providor's administrators. Again, if they are reputable, they will respond to your complaint. If both these avenues fail, I encourage you to file an infringement suit in whatever court your wife or legal counsel suggests. Someone needs to put their foot down on internet copyright violators. Many have, actually, but many more need to in order to make a reasonable impression. -- Jeffrey S. Medkeff _|_ If a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, Sierra Vista, | where is the man who has so much as to Arizona | be out of danger? (T. H. Huxley) On the web at http://shutter.vet.ohio-state.edu/ ==== PENNA-DUTCH Mailing List ====