Mel Lockie's Conditions of Use

Definitions

This page describes the Conditions of Use of information prepared by me (Mel Lockie) and placed by me on my website

Most, but not all, web pages published on my website are identifiable by the signature/timestamp "Last updated [Date] - [Time] by Mel Lockie" at their foot.

Pages may contain transcriptions, images, database content, and material authored by myself, and others. These conditions apply to the full content of any page on my website whether identified by the above signature/timestamp or not.

Pages I've created may also from time to time include significant amounts of material contributed by other researchers. This is clearly identified as such, and permission has always been obtained beforehand. However, unless it says otherwise, the same Conditions of Use will apply as if the contributor were myself.

Summary of Conditions of Use

1. Copies of material collected and prepared by me (Mel Lockie) for the web MAY be used freely by individuals for their own personal use or pursuing their own research.

2. Copies MAY NOT be made for sale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever in either electronic or printed form. Copies may not be added to other online collections either for free, or commercial access without my permission.

3. Copies MAY NOT be used in published family histories (or other papers, treatises, &c.), in either electronic or printed form.

4. Any references, in either electronic or printed form, to any of the information on my website (including a posting to a Mailing List, &c.) or quotation from this information MUST give credit to the original author(s) and/or data source, in the form of the URL (web page address) of the page from which you obtained the information.

5. Links to the information on my website from other web pages are welcomed, but you MAY NOT copy this information as a whole to your own web site, or submit it for inclusion into other online databases whether free, or commercial.

Background

These conditions might seem dictatorial, but, if you are a private family history researcher like me, pursuing your own family history as a hobby, and you are NOT seeking to copy information I've collected to your own web site, or to enhance your own publication, there is nothing to worry about - please use the information freely, and with my best wishes. This page is aimed mainly (but not only) at those who seek to gain disproportionately from my (or other people's) endeavours, or to present material I've prepared as their own.

Note: Under English Law, material doesn't need to have a copyright statement to be copyrighted, and English Law would apply in any infringements of these conditions. I, or my contributors, reserve copyright of all material we've prepared for the web. Specifically, even if a book is now out of print and/or out of copyright, it does not mean that a transcription of it is out of copyright.

Some of the material which is to be found on my website is held in database form by me, and software to which I own the copyright is used to extract the relevant data and generate the pages which you see on this sites. A United Kingdom Act of 1997 specifically covers the compiling and use of database material. The notice below is required to be displayed in order to give me protection under this Act:

Database Right: All databases used for this website are covered by the 1997 Database Regulations. Mel Lockie (and others as stated on the relevant pages) are the makers of the databases used for these websites and the owner(s) of the database rights. First published in 2005.

General aims:

I derive a great deal of pleasure in making collections of transcripts of books, census or parish registers, memorial inscriptions, photographs, &c. available on the Web. If you also find them useful that's great, and it is my intention to share information I've collected with others, providing it's for personal use only (normally with respect to genealogy).

Specifically:

It has become apparent to me over the years that some people assume that any "out of copyright" material which they find on the web is theirs to use however they like, and therefore it seems that any regular transcriber needs to spell out the conditions of use to place upon his or her material.

Some readers may be unaware of how much work is involved in transcription for the web. The results need proof reading, and checking, and converting into a suitable form. I have spent many hours transcribing research material, and whilst I make it freely available on the web, I believe I have a right proportionate to the work involved to set conditions on use (or misuse) of copies outside that medium.

Primarily, you are welcome to use it for your own family history research, or to link to it from your own website, but you MAY NOT copy it as a whole or in part to your own site. And, it is NOT TO BE USED to augment other online databases, profit-making or otherwise.

If you use the information on my web site to enhance your family history or other research, I would appreciate a suitable aknowledgement which mentions where the information came from.

I am not asking for any form of payment, but neither should anyone else profit from my work, either financially, or otherwise. This would include such things as selling copies on CDROM, on a floppy disk, on a microfiche, or making copies available on a commercial web site; printing for sale in any form whatsoever, selling or promoting products or services, soliciting clients, or any other commercial purpose whatsoever, or using my/our data to populate your own web site. This prohibition includes distribution by non-profit making organisations such as Family History Societies without my prior permission.

I repeat: It doesn't have to say copyright on it to be copyrighted.

To those of you who want to use this material simply for what it contains in the way of historical and genealogical information, please enjoy it with my best (and free) wishes.