Copyright Information for Allen INGenWeb Project

Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. Copied from the What Does Copyright Protect? at the U.S. Copyright Office FAQ.

Allen County INGenWeb Project is part of the volunteer INGenWeb Project and USGenWeb Project providing Free online genealogical information since 1996.

We attempt to provide current links to online sources, but mistakes happen. If you find errors or ommisions please Contact Allen INGenWeb.

Public Domain: Celebrating the Lifecycle of Copyright video by the U.S. Copyright Office publlished January 16, 2019 on YouTube.

Public Domain

Most publications before 1924 are in the public domain so are copyright free for any use. Starting January 1, 2019 the public domain date adds one more year each year on January 1 to the public domain time frame. See January 1, 2019 is (finally) Public Domain Day: Works from 1923 are open to all! by Duke Law School on law.duke.edu. For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain by Glenn Fleishman published January 2019 in the Smithsonian magazine. How to Download the Books That Just Entered the Public Domain by Caroline Haskins published January 2, 2019 on motherboard.vice.com. After 1924 copyright gets complicated - see That 1923 date by  published November 30, 2016 on her Legal Genealogist blog. Internet Archive is saying up to 1941 can be in the public domain copyright free. See Books from 1923 to 1941 Now Liberated! by Brewster Kahle posted October 10, 2017 on their blog.

Fair Use

Allen County INGenWeb Project welcomes the Fair Use of our web site and its contents for non-commercial research purposes when citing your sources. See the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index page and Columbia University Libraries Information Services Copyright Advisory Office Fair Use Checklist or Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors at Stanford University Libraries.

Additional Copyright Information

  1. For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain by Glenn Fleishman published January 2019 in the Smithsonian Magazine. Starting January 1, 2019 copyright publications from 1923 become Public Domain and will add another year each January 1.
  2. Books from 1923 to 1941 Now Liberated! discussing Section 108 of copyright law that  lets libraries scan & make available materials published from 1923-1941 if not being actively sold. posted October 10 , 2017 by Internet Archive on Facebook.
  3. U.S. Law will soon Release Previously Copyrighted Works of 1923 to the Public Domain by Dick Eastman published April 30, 2018. References the longer article A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain For the first time in two decades, a huge number of books, films, and other works will escape U.S. copyright law by Glenn Fleishman published April 8, 2018 on The Atlantic.com.
  4. USGenWeb Project Copyright Information
  5. 10 Big Myths about copyright explained by Brad Templeton originally 1994, updated 2008
  6. The Legal Genealogist blog by  has several Copyright topics including That 1923 date , Copyright and the lost letters, Copyright and the website, Copyright and the old family photo, Photos and the family homestead, Copyright and the obit, Copyright and the post-1963 obit, Copyright & the newspaper article.
  7. Can I Scan that Photo – Legally? Understanding Copyright and Fair Use by Jackie Jade published September 20, 2016 on OrganizingPhotos.com blog.
  8. Copyright and Fair Use - Stanford University Libraries - Videos on Fair Use
  9. Copyright, Plagiarism & Fair Use - Evidence Explained 2.6 by Elizabeth Shown Mills, offers a succinct set of guidelines for these three issues. Evidence Explained on Facebook, [January 1, 2013]
  10. Copyright Resources for Genealogy Societies - from the Federation of Genealogical Societies
  11. Copyright and Copy Wrong -- Genealogists and Family Historians need to do it RIGHT! December 6, 2012 from the National Genealogical Society
  12. Copyright Myths - Dick Eastman's Newsletter September 14, 2011 discussion with reader comments
  13. Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States - is a regularly updated annual table of dates and terms at Cornell University. Recommended by The Legal Genealogist in her blog More on copyright and old letters published May 5, 2020.
  14. Citing Primary Sources Library of Congress - based on MLA-Style Citation Format and Chicago Citation Format.
  15. Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright - by U.S. Copyright Office
  16. Guidelines For Publishing Web Pages On The Internet The National Genealogical Society
  17. Guidelines for Sharing Information with Others Recommended by the National Genealogical Society
  18. Is It Covered By Copyright? - Consult the Copyright Genie - What's Your Wish?
  19. Online Guides to Citing Electronic Sources Purdue Online Writing Lab
  20. The Online Books Page - Frequently Asked Questions - lists over a million online books
  21. Oral Interviews + Copyright -- Are You Using Best Practices? published March 13, 2014 on the National Genealogical Society blog.
  22. QuickLesson 15: Plagiarism—Five "Copywrongs" of Historical Writing by Elizabeth Shown Mills,  Evidence Explained: Historical Analysis, Citation & Source Usage (https://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-15-plagiarism—five-copywrongs-historical-writing : [January 8, 2013]).
  23. Standards For Sharing Information With Others Recommended by the National Genealogical Society from 2000
  24. United States Copyright Office has a list of factsheets
  25. Using Creative Commons Licenses for Sharing your Genealogy FamilySearch TechTips April 12, 2012
  26. Who Actually Owns Your Content When You Post It to the Web? by Dick Eastman published November 1, 2017 on his newsletter.

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Page updated: May 11, 2020