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Genealogy Ethics and the Law

Genealogy Ethics and the Law

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 5:10PM GMT
Classification: Query
Reposted from the Raubeson message board...

First and foremost, I’m not an attorney and my opinions are mine alone. And while it is not feasible to address all of the ethical and legal questions that one might encounter in conducting genealogical research, a few points about each are worth considering. As others including the disclaimer at laws.com, have recently pointed out, even the opinion of someone licensed to practice law is only an opinion. Decisions on copyright issues are generally made by the courts.

Now for some legal implications: Did you know that registration with US Copyright office is required prior to claiming ownership of any photograph? Otherwise the photograph is considered to be in the public domain and no claim of infringement may be made or lawsuit filed over use an unregistered photograph.

Also, because much of genealogy is the discovery of facts, much of what you might choose to publish on ancestry.com will not be under copyright protection. However, you should never upload or share content that does not belong to you or invades the privacy rights of others. Be aware that the ancestry.com terms of service state “By submitting material to the Website, you represent that you have the right to do so or that you have obtained any necessary third party consents (e.g., under privacy or intellectual property laws). Upon the request of Ancestry you agree to furnish Ancestry with any documentation, substantiation and releases necessary and reasonably required to verify and substantiate your compliance with this provision.”

You need to be careful what you post, and it is NEVER ok to take content from someone else and submit it as your own. Unfortunately this type of thing happens all the time. It is very difficult to control what happens to information you post in the public domain and nearly impossible to legally compel another user to follow the rules. In other words, you need to proceed with caution and carefully consider the pros and cons of posting personal photographs and documents in the public domain.

Now for some ethical considerations: I think everyone would agree that it is never acceptable to publish information on living individuals in a publicly available medium. But what about publishing potentially sensitive information such as illegitimate births, criminal behavior, and causes of death?

To avoid disenfranchisement of relatives and the sources of personal communications:
• Request permission to include personal communications as sources in compiled genealogies.
• Never publish information about living individuals in a publicly published genealogy.
• Request permission to include potentially sensitive information from those who might be impacted by publishing that information.

Speaking for my personal decisions about what I post, while my decisions may not always be perfect, I’ll evaluate the information I intend to publish and decide what to include and what information for which to request permission on a case-by-case basis. And I’ll certainly have to consider whether something I publish has the potential to harm someone else. But, even this approach is not without an ethical dilemma. By choosing not to report certain information I may risk compromising the integrity and truth of my work. Respecting the rights of the living over the documentation of family history is the standard that I used when sharing information.

The most important thing to do when evaluating any piece of information is to be skeptical. Just remember that online information only provides you with clues to be checked out. Most people have good intentions and will share information in the public domain ethically and responsibly. But certain information may send you off on a wild goose chase or worse yet threaten the value or accuracy of your entire project. With some careful consideration you will be able to determine if a particular photograph, document or paternity claim has any real merit or significance to your research.

Happy searching!

Re: Genealogy Ethics and the Law

Posted: 10 Jan 2015 4:52AM GMT
Classification: Query
Amen! There is also something else I'd like to point out and if it was covered above, I missed it. Although relatives are dead, the amount of time they have been dead is important. I don't even like to publish my grandparents on a public website due to the fact that any of their issue may use their mother's maiden name as security with financial institutions. Armed with that information anyone would have an easier time stealing someone's identity, bank accounts, etc. It's been going on for years, with less information than that.
What was said above about permission to post information and names of the recently passed parents of an individual is not only ethical, it shows that you as a researcher, respect the feelings of the children who just lost someone near and dear to them. Seeing my father's name on Ancestry.com only weeks after he died was upsetting to me, but also it puts me at risk as well for reasons given above - stealing identities. My personal opinion and I have heard many professionals advise not to post relatives closer than 2 generations away from yourself or any other living relative. Protect yourself & respect the feelings of others.

Happy & Safe searching
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