The issue of copyrights is a very complicated one and the PRA is committed to following all copyright laws.  After much discussion and research, the PRA adopted a copyright policy on April 26, 2003 which appears below.

Principals We Strive to Follow:

• INFORM the researcher that, with their consent, we want to publish material so others may benefit from the information, and;
• OBTAIN the author's CONSENT BEFORE the material is published/posted.
• The Genealogical Standards and Guidelines as published by the National Genealogical Society.

For more information on sharing information, please see the National Genealogical Society section on their website titled "Standards for Sharing Information With Others".

Pennington Research Association Copyright Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to protect the intellectual property of the Pennington Research Association and any material which is produced exclusively by the Pennington Research Association and its members or submitted to the Pennington Research Association by its members or any other person or group.

Policy

It is the policy of the Pennington Research Association to provide information on the Internet.  In keeping with this policy, data, files or articles published or posted on the Internet by the Pennington Research Association may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as the following message remains on all copied material.

"These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Data, files, articles, etc. may be printed or copied for PERSONAL USE ONLY. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor or the author of the article and the Pennington Research Association".

Procedures

The following copyright statements will appear in all material published by the Pennington Research Association.

In all books/articles/or printed publication:

"This {book/article/or printed publication title} is published and copyright {insert year} by the Pennington Research Association {insert Library of Congress Catalog Number here if appropriate}".

"No part of this book/article/publication may be reproduced without expressed written consent of the Pennington Research Association.

Brief passages may be quoted for purposes of review in publications where genealogical books are usually reviewed.

Blanket permission is hereby granted to reproduce any or all of this publication for the convenience of Pennington Research Association members or others who may request such copies for purpose of genealogical research. A copy of the title page and the copyright page shall in all cases be included with the reproduction".

Website and Pages:

-1.  The following statement will appear on each web page belonging to the Pennington Research Association.

"Copyright C {insert year} Pennington Research Association. All rights reserved."

-2.  The following statement will appear with each article and/or data provided on the Pennington Research Association web site and/or other electronic medium.

"PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from any of the Pennington Research Association's electronic medium is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice appears at the end of the article:

Written by {author's name, e-mail address, and URL, if given}. Previously published by Pennington Research Association {insert date of publication}.

Pennington Research Association: http://www.penningtonresearch.org"

Approved by Pennington Research Association Board of Directors, May 2003.

Updated:  October 29, 2009