Hi, Margaret.  You are correct, and - of course - no one SHOULD use the intellectual products of another person without permission, but the questions asked of me were not about the ethics of it all, but rather about the "Fair Use" provisions of the U.S. Code, Title 17, and thus my answers. 

My own writings have been the subject of much plagiarism (even one of my jokes once), however such thieves have no concern for the ethics of it all.      :-)   Paul       
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  Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 11:40 AM
  Subject: Re: using others' materials


  Paul Your answer is a legal answer and not an ethical one. There was a discussion of the APG-rootsweb about 6 weeks ago about a man on E-bay who was scanning genealogy books and offering them for sale regardless of copy right. These are cases yet to be tested. And they are mounting. No one has the right to scan someone else's intellectual property and publish it in any form without giving credit. It is plagiarism plain and simple. While there may not be a legal precedent in the case law, it is not ethical and not a practice that needs to be encouraged. The person who wishes to use another's work can and should get written permission to use it. But first and foremost no one makes money on genealogy books. They invest far more time than it is worth to compile these records for a small royalty.  Margaret Amundson

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