changing copyright protection so book can be viewed on Family Search
My grandmother wrote several books that contain genealogy information that new generations of our family would like to access. My grandmother is deceased and the copyrights that were in place are no longer valid based on my research. How do I change the "can't be viewed - copyright" information on her books so that they can be accessed on Family Search. We have limited copies and in this digital age, letting people have access to this information would be beneficial.
Are there reasons why we wouldn't want this to be accessed online?
Answers
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The record for the above book in the FS Digital Library is https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/87195-eighty-years-in-america?offset=1
Perhaps you could write directly to the Digital Library, email address is in this link https://www.familysearch.org/en/family-history-library/digital-library , given as Contact Us: [email protected]
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I'm not a lawyer, so please don't take this comment as legal advice. If the copyright laws suggest copyright has expired (in most cases there are very clear time limits, but check that there isn't an exception or special circumstances that applies to this book), then you could post the date of publication here and ask a FS staff member to look into it. But if there's some doubt, or sensitive issues involved, It's probably best to talk to the representatives of your grandmother's Estate, or if there are none, her descendants before proceeding any further.
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@lisamariewinward1 Try Ancestry. I have found several books out of print which in FamilySearch are not readable because of copyright, but in Ancestry you can view the full text. An example is this, "Abstracts of Fauquier County, Virginia : wills, inventories and accounts, 1759-1800" by John Gott. Because I could browse the entire book in Ancestry, I decided it was so valuable I found a copy and bought it. Also, FamilySearch does change the access. The series "Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish settlement in Virginia", by Chalkle used to be locked up, I think, but now is not. I purchased Vol II anyway because it is so useful. Point is, keep trying back.
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I found 3 places with at least one copy that is for sale. I recommend you purchase it! If it were a book of genealogy by my grandmother I would drop $75 without a second's hesitation.
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Copyright doesnt end simply when a person (author) dies . . .
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In the U. S.
Currently, all copyright-eligible works created on or after January 1, 1978 are protected for 70 years after the death of their author. This right is granted automatically by the Copyright Act of 1976, which established a 50-year protection period after death, as well as Amendments such as the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, which extended post-mortem protection to 70 years. This also applies to joint works created by multiple authors, where the term of protection is 70 years after the death of the last living contributor.
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@Dennis J Yancey Copyright sounds like it should be a standard treatment across the board but it is not. I have found FamilySearch restricting books because of copyright that are freely available elsewhere. Examples posted below regarding Virginia genealogy.
Cavaliers and pioneers : abstracts of Virginia land patents and grants. Supplement, Northern Neck Grants no. 1, 1690-1692
· FS URL, restricted access (you may have to open this url in a new window): https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/88293-cavaliers-and-pioneers-abstracts-of-virginia-land-patents-and-grants-supplement-northern-neck-grants-no-1-1690-1692?offset=1
· Ancestry URL, indexed, searchable and full text online: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/48408/
Abstracts of Fauquier County, Virginia : wills, inventories and accounts, 1759-1800
· FS URL, restricted access: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/140865-abstracts-of-fauquier-county-virginia-wills-inventories-and-accounts-1759-1800?offset=2
· Ancestry URL, indexed, searchable and full text online: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/49009/
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it is not always consistent -
one reason I can think of is simply - Various authors have actually given permission to waive the copyright and allow FS to make public
other than that I would think FS would be pretty consistent because its a legal matter
BUT yes various items were allowed to be digitized because the author or owner of the work gave the permission.
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