Statutory copyright protection begins automatically when a work is created in a fixed form such as a writing or recording. “Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time”. [empahasis added by the copyright office. [www.copyright.gov]
  I would emphasize copyright is created when it is “fixed” the FIRST time.]    So, whether or not something found on the net has a “copyright notice” , the copyright already belongs to someone else.

  A web page is not “personal use”.  It is public – about as public as you can get, unless it has password entry.  Genealogy may be your personal interest, but posting something on the web is public, not personal and does NOT constitute Fair Use. This is true even if you post something once, for your own education, not-for-profit use. If your web site is for family only, and excludes others, you may use brief passages of others’ writings, with credit given. If the page is free for anyone to see, it is not private use. [there seems to be an exception for mailing lists, such as this]

  It is not enough to “give credit” to the creator.  You also need permission to use the work of others.  If you want to use a paragraph of someone else’s work – more than two sentences – you need permission.  This is true of maps, charts and anything else created by someone other than yourself.  If you want to use just a couple of sentences, credit to the creator is appropriate.

  It is violation of copyright to use copyrighted material in the classroom, which is considered a public arena, without written permission.  Certain sources, such as news agencies sometimes have a policy of NEVER granting permission for classroom use, since news becomes outdated.  Some sources will want to be paid for such public use.

  President Clinton signed the No Electronic Theft Act, [NET]  in 1997.
  The Copyright Act provides for both civil and criminal liability for acts of copyright infringement. 17 U.S.C., Chapter 5.  If you try to earn money using someone else’s work, and the copyright’s loss is $2500 or more, it is a felony, entailing up to 3 years in prison, and/or a fine of up to $250,000.  If the creator’s loss is $1000, it is a misdemeanor, with the maximum penalty of imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine of up to $25,000.  It doesn’t matter if the thief actually made a profit or not. “Criminal infringement includes willful infringement by reproduction or distribution of one or more works, including by electronic means, that lacks a commercial motive but has a substantial commercial effect”,. which have a total retail value of more than $1,000, shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18. [in other words, there is now a criminal penalty for using someone else’s work, if they can prove a loss of $1,000 or more, even if the thief had  no intent
 to make money.  Civil penalties [fines] can apply when there is minimal financial loss.  If a thief infringes on someone else’s rights, not willfully, even with no motive to make a profit [personal, non-commercial use], he/she can still be civilly liable for infringements, and be ordered to pay fines and court costs. .  Falsely claiming copyright for others’ work has become a separate punishable offense. 18 U.S.C. § 2319

  There is also ,“Innocent infringement”, which occurs when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.   But if you want to claim “Innocent infringement”, you better have no copyright notice on your own work, and be able to prove that you tried to find the real owner of the property in question, and “believed” the work was in the public domain.

  It seems to me that it is just a matter of integrity, and a lot easier, to give credit where credit is due and ask permission to use someone else’s work.  It is also a matter of integrity, when paraphrasing someone else’s recorded thoughts, to give them credit, rather than act as if it was your own idea, even though a paraphrase is not subject to copyright laws.


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