References:

Bellsouth vs. Donnelley

Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony

Copyright Code—A Linked Index

Feist Publications vs. Rural Telephone

Peter Veeck versus Southern Building Code Congress International Inc.,

Publications International  v. Meredith Corporation

Trade-Mark Cases, 100 U.S. 82 (1879)

U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8

Information on this site cannot be considered legal advice.  If you need legal advice on copyright, please consult an attorney or refer to one or more of the sponsor links on the right side of the page. Another place you might look is the US Copyright Office web site.

The copyright information on this site applies to U.S. Copyright, unless otherwise stated.

Welcome to my copyright and genealogy page!

     My original copyright site came about because of the conflicting information that I was seeing on-line with respect to genealogy and copyright. While this new and revised site is not specifically focused on copyright as it applies to genealogy, the concepts and ideas still apply to genealogy.  If you are interested in genealogy, hopefully there will be something of use for you here.

Genealogy, by its nature, requires the use of pre-existing material factual.  Proper use of the appropriate pre-existing material for purposes such as genealogy is not copyright infringement. A little study of copyright law can, in  many cases, help understand what is and is not proper use.

     Copyright issues can be truly confounding and misunderstood. These pages are intended to help individuals understand some of the important aspects of the law.

     Of course, since I am not a lawyer and have no legal training, the information on this site cannot be considered to be legal advice.

     Copyright is never perfectly simple. There are no quick and streamlined answers. If copyright issues arise that you are unable to address, consultation with an attorney may be required.

     Along with the copyright discussion pages, other pages are included for reference with text of significance from copyright related legal documents, specifically copyright law, Supreme Court and other court opinions, and the Constitution of the United States.

© 2005, Michael Goad