The Year Ahead – January 1

Back in 2006, Family Tree Magazine published an article with "365 Ideas to Trace your Roots, Have a breakthrough year with our 2006 Tip-a-Day Research Planner" by Lisa A Aloz. In 2012, I decided to try all those Tips and share them on my other blog titled “My Simple Genealogy Research Blog”.

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have reintroduced "The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet" by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

I have decided to try all these tips again and to share my take on each of these tips. 

January 1 – In recognition of Copyright Law Day, explore the basics of US copyright law www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.

Therefore, it might be ironic that I am copying what Family Tree Magazine has printed in their magazine. However, it states that “Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans are not protected by copyright law. Similarly, it is clear that copyright law does not protect simple product lettering or coloring, or the mere listing of product ingredients or contents.”

Thus, if you copy, reproduce, display, or otherwise hold out another's work (such as an image, musical recording, article, or any other type of work that you did not create) as your own, you are undoubtedly infringing on copyrighted material. This is true whether you benefited financially from the use or not.

Therefore, since I am using just a short phrase, from each day’s tip, I am hoping I am safe from copyright law. Plus, I will always give, Family Tree Magazine and Lisa A Aloz the due credit for the tip. However, my comments on the tip will be my own work.

You might want to go out and find a copy of Family Tree Magazine and follow along with the 366 genealogy tips and make this a better research year than you had in the past.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!