admin Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the purpose of this project ?
This project is for making Delaware biographies available to the public.
The biographies are to be of Delaware citizens and settlers. This includes
people who were born in Delaware, or whose parents might have also been born
in Delaware.This is accomplished by listing biographies from various sources. By making these biographies available to the public, it allows
people to learn more about their ancestors than they might have ever known
otherwise.2. Who is managing the biographies project ?
The current coordinator of the Delaware Biography Project is Nathan
Zipfel.3. What are the copyright restrictions for books ?
In 1909 the copyright law stated that a copyright was for a period of 28
years. This could be renewed for an additional 47 year period, making a total
of 75 years of copyright protection.In 1976 the copyright law was changed. Copyrights are now for the period of
the creator's life plus 50 years. Anything copyrighted before 1976 falls under
the 1909 law.This means that anything published prior to about 1927 has no further
copyright protection, and can be published freely by anyone. The same would
apply to reprint copies of that material, or reprints of books originally
published prior to that time. The mere reprinting of material does not extend
the copyright beyond the 75 year period, unless additional material has been
added, and even then only the additions may be copyrighted.More information on copyright rules can be found here.
4. Who holds the copyright to the submitted biographies ?
The submitter of the biography retains the rights to it. If you
should ever (we hope you won't) request that a biography be removed, please
contact me.5. How will the biographies be stored ?
Currently automated submission boards are being used to submit and to
display the biographies. The project retains the rights to reformat and
display the biographies in alternate format.6. Will my submissions ever be sold ?
No – this project is committed to the free access of genealogical material.
7. What can I do to help ?
We need volunteers to transcribe existing biographies from various sources and to submit living
biographies.For any other questions, please email Nathan Zipfel.
