Question

book is not copyrighted/ google books says public domain "Pioneers of Old Hopewell" can one copy and paste?

Comments

I don't think it is a good policy to copy/paste data from any online source, even if public domain.  My approach is to paraphrase a bit of the most important data and use an inline source with link, to the book page or website, that the additional information can be read.

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Thanks for suggestion and that is what I have been trying to do.  My Momma always told me that anything worth doing is worth doing right.  She was a school teacher.   Sharon

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Link to similar WikiTree G2G Q&A:

http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/106463/have-you-uploaded-a-scan-of-copyrighted-work-book-or-article

http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/185522/are-we-using-a-public-domain-tag-for-photos 

http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/192113/please-dont-copy-paste-text-from-other-web-sites 

http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/231241/need-guidance-on-using-photo-with-creative-commons-licence 

http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/167962/fair-use-and-art-acceptable-quotation-copyrighted-material 

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Sharon: "My Momma always told me that anything worth doing is worth doing right."

My mother also :) - she emphasized that my result need not be perfect, but simply the very best that I can do, and that if I'm not willing to give the task my best effort then don't do it at all. She is long gone, but her scoldings remain my guide.

Answer 1

I'd think you could.  But since Google went to the trouble of scanning and digitizing the book, I would think you shouldn't, copy the entire book to a public site like WikiTree.  I'd think a paragraph or photo here and there to go with a particular profile, and perhaps some paragraphs if you have a page on "Old Hopewell" would be fine.  Going to entire chapters, I'd think you'd need to check with Google to see what they say.  And who knows they may be like the old mapmakers who made errors on purpose so they could prove a competitor was stealing their work.  Of course I don't remember if Goggle books are just scans or if they've been OCR'd  But in any case you'd want to credit GoogleBooks for the info as well as the original author/publisher.

Comments

Great suggestion.  Will do.  Google sure has helped me find my ancestors and they deserve credit.  Had not thought about it.

Answer 2

I would say you can quote as much as you like, referencing the original.

But copying from Google should not be done without their permission. As I understand it, the text is in the public domain, but not their scan.

Comments

Thanks for your word of caution.  Sharon

Answer 3

I am no Lawyer. I use layman terms to understand Law, the following is my common sense understanding of applicable law and what WikiTree requires. (comments & critiques are always appreciated).

There seems to be a few different trains of thought on this subject.

IMHO Patricia, Dave and Martin all seem to be on track.

I have recently joined the euroartisto Project. Many previously normal Source's have run-out or simply do not go back before c.1325. 

These two Profiles below I created and Manage are based upon online free google books that I have had to download the whole book to my PC to read any of the text. They are under no existing Copyrite protection. (you may notice I quoted verbatim from these Sources & also gave credit to the Source witch produces accuracy & allows for further study. I have also included the Re-Publication Sources).

Items: VI, VII, & VIII from the WikiTree Honor Code: http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Special:Honor_Code

VI. We respect copyrights. We don't knowingly copy information that's owned by someone else. If we ourselves want to preserve a copyright, we're clear about what's copyrighted so others don't accidentally copy it.

VII. We give credit. Although most genealogy isn't copyrighted, researchers deserve credit for the work they've done.

VII. We cite sources. Without sources we can't objectively resolve conflicting information.

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Edmundiston-1 (1299-1359)

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Edmundiston-2 (1249-1347) . 

 Here is a link to a WikiTree Free-Space page I made in Jan 2016.: 

Genealogical data, the Salem Tenth in west New Jersey .

Here is a Photo Image example of a "NON-COPYRIGHT", "Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication" Image I have attached to a Profile (Always being sure to follow WikiTree guidelines / Honor Code).

http://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Halstead-463-2 . JPVIV :)

 

Comments

Being from the old school--1956 high school graduate thought my sourcing was correct.  The Honor Code is important to me which was taught to me by a wonderful English teacher.  Times change and appreciate your comments and this 'old dog is gonna learn some new tricks.'

 

Sharon

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Sharon, this following WikiTree page may help you... It still helps me. 

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Jillaine's_Dream_Source_Help_Page

JPVIV :)

Answer 4

You can also create a free space page for the book with various information such as where to find it, how to reference, etc. See my free space page for "The Campbells Are'' by Marian Miller for an example of this in use.

There are several advantages to doing this:

1. Profiles that use the book as a source can be included via the link that says "WikiTree Profiles that use this source"
2. Provide additional links where the book can be found (ie Google, HathiTrust, Archive.org, FamilySearch Books, etc)
3. The ability to add research notes regarding discrepancies you might have found.
4. Categorize it as a Source so others can find it

 

Comments

Thanks for this tip.   Will try.  Sharon

Answer 5

If the source is clearly marked as being in the Public Domain, then it can be copied. Public Domain means there is no copyright protection.

Because a book is in the Public Domain, this gives Google the right to make full complete copies of the book and make it available online.

If you want to copy long passages from a book, you are free to do so, because of the fact that it is in the Public Domain.

When you copy passages from a Public Domain book, you should still cite your source, and quote the passage. Don't pretend that you wrote it, when you didn't. This is just good research.

While the above is not intended to be Legal advice, as I am not a lawyer, I work in the field of Open Source Software and deal a lot with licensing of copyrighted works (open source software).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

It's too easy to let FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) rule over you because of ignorance. Think this through: Who is the original copyright holder? It's certainly not Google. Google is making a copy of the original work. Because if there was an issue, then only the holder of the copyright can claim a copyright violation. The copyright has expired, allowing the work to pass into the Public Domain.

Answer 6

Here is wikitree's policy on this topic:

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Copying_Text

Comments

I am doing steps 1-3 now and give up the copy and paste.  It is link to the full text that I have not figured out how to do. I have RefMe and have made a bibliography but how do I link from my biographies to the full text online.

 

Thanks

Hardman-759

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Sharon,

Navigate to the full text online that you want to link to.

Up in your browser window, you'll see what's called a URL; it typically starts with something like: http://www..... (some browsers drop the "http://" part).

Highlight the text that  is in that box, and copy it.

Then navigate to the window where you are editing the wikitree profile. Type something like this:

Here is the text for more information about George Washington:

(then paste the url onto the next line)

That's the easiest way to do it. Slightly more sophisticated would be to type this

[http://www.rest-of-long-url-address Here is the text] for more information about George Washington.

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Well, I had a hallelujah moment this afternoon.  Found that little chain up on the left where tools for adding info is--like the first one on the left on this below font and wa la I clicked it.  I finally worked it out.  Got all my source books bookmarked online and had a ball doing the James Bowne and Mary Stout Bowne family.

I really appreciate the discussion we have had on the subject of copy 7 paste and copyright.  We must all remember that not only text but images may have copyrights.  If we use someone else's stuff we gotta give them credit, right?

Hardman-759