Question about FamilySearch Code of Conduct with Family Tree data
One of the FamilySearch user has approached me about an issue with her Family Tree data being used for other websites.
She accessed the ancestral village database and discovered that her Family Tree records had been inputted from FamilySearch into this ancestral database(Kfarsghab Ancestry database). She says they are identical to her FamilySearch records. She also said that these data are open to the public to view.
She has spent a small fortune and a vast amount of time researching to find all the information in order to place accurate and well researched records into FamilyTree. All this time, money and effort in researching her records has personally benefitted other user who copied the data to her own personal family tree, and the Kfarsghab Ancestry database which now contains all her FamilySearch records.
She believes that this action goes against the "Terms of Use" and the "Code of Conduct".
“All material found at this site (including visuals, text, icons, displays, databases, media, products, services, and information) is owned or licensed by us. Unless otherwise indicated, you may view, download, and print materials from this site only for your personal, non commercial use, or for your use as a volunteer indexer in connection with the FamilySearch Indexing Program pursuant to the FamilySearch Indexing Program Terms and Conditions or the FamilySearch Indexing Software License Agreement. You may not post content from this site on another website or on a computer network without our permission. You may not transmit or distribute content from this site to other sites. You may not use this site or information found at this site (including the names and addresses of those who have submitted information) to sell or promote products or services, to solicit clients, or for any other commercial purpose.”
So here is my question:
- Can data in Family Tree be used in other websites?
- Is this situation considered a violation of the Terms of Use/Code of Conduct?
- If it is a violation, what should be done?
Thank you.
Answers
-
As I understand it, basic historical information cannot be copyrighted or "owned" by anyone. This is information such as names, dates, places, and family relationships. Notice that the statement you quote only talks about material, not data, and its list of examples does not include data. (See: https://www.newmediarights.org/business_models/artist/are_facts_copyrighted )
Not being any kind of lawyer or expert, I would say that, yes, any basic genealogical data found in Family Tree can be used in other websites, it is not a violation of the code of conduct, and there is nothing to report.
This is analogous to the situation with recipes. The author of a cookbook can copyright the book and this covers all the visual images and all of the text in the book except the list of ingredients. That means that anyone can take that list of ingredients, completely re-write the directions, and publish the modified recipe. (See: https://www.copyrightlaws.com/copyright-protection-recipes/ )
Now if what was posted to the other website was a research document or story she had written or photographs she had personally taken, that is a different situation and there could be basis for a complaint to the owners of the other database.
5 -
From the FamilySearch terms of use, updated 2023
Collaboration with Others
You acknowledge that a primary purpose of this site is to enable collaboration between users of this site and other sites who wish to expand their genealogical databases and knowledge.
Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, has a blog post on FamilySearch, entitled "Sharing is Forever." A sentence that applies to this situation:
If you choose to upload something, you must understand that you are
agreeing to allow it to be downloaded and used by everyone else who uses
the website for their own personal noncommercial research, to be
revised and included in the FamilySearch Wiki, to be used in training materials and similar purposes.4 -
미숙 Others in this thread have provided excellent advice. If you feel your question hasn't been fully answered or if you have additional inquiries about this matter, please send a detailed email to dataprivacyofficer@ldschurch.org.
0 -
also see:
0 -
I started working on genealogy when I was about 14 years when everything was done by hand or typed, if you had a typewriter. We shared our family trees and histories with photocopies and at family reunions. I am personally grateful for the technology that we now have so we can share with our families on a greater scale.
When my mother passed away and had done away with everything, I became even more aware of the importance of FS. I had scanned some of what my mother had 25 years previously and I had scans from my grandmother and great grandmother. If not for what I had, my siblings would have nothing. Because of that experience, I have become a true believer that not any one person in a family should be the keeper of photos or histories but also realize that it happens all too often. I am now 68 years old and have made it my life's mission for the time I have left to make sure that every little photo, story and memory is archived in FS for my siblings, children and grandchildren. I know that in 50 years, someone will want to know who their ancestors were, just as I have. That information needs to be there for them and all future generations. If someone wants to download the photos or stories I post, that is fine with me. I want my family to love and know my ancestors the way I do, that is what it is there for. Even with photos that I take, I post them with the knowledge and realization that it becomes public and that is fine with me, I do it as a way to share with my family and distant relatives.
2
