I am surprised at your answer. I have assumed that if a tree was public the information was public. I know little about copyright law. Doesn't an item have to be marked copyright if it expects protection? And can't a person use a copyrighted item for his personal use? These questions are off the subject - but your statement was very strong.
I have found some photos of my ancestors on Ancestry.com, and I have downloaded them and attached them to the respective person in my family tree. I find it difficult to believe that I must have permission to do this. I suppose this discussion could get quite lengthy. Can you give me the link to the other discussions you referred?
Thanks
Jim Vincent