1. About Us
  2. Leadership
  3. Copyrights

GRHS Copyright Policy

The Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) makes every effort to protect the rights of those who donate to its collections or publish in its various publications. To accomplish this, donors and authors will be asked to document the rights they wish to give to GRHS as part of their contributions. Several forms have been designed to help collect this documentation.

Please note that as part of our protection of our contributors rights all files on this website are copyrighted either by GRHS or by information providers who have licensed such use to GRHS. For more information on the terms and conditions of use of the files and pages on the GRHS website please see our Terms and Conditions.

 

GRHS Copyright Forms

Using the Work of Others (Short Agreement Form)
PDF Format
All works such as articles, compilations, videos, recordings, pictures, or graphics created by other authors that are reprinted by GRHS or used by GRHS in a publication are required to have the permission of the copyright owner. While this has always been the policy of GRHS, documentation will now be retained by GRHS. A simplified form is given here that may be used to request these permissions. For donations intended only for the website see below.

Donating Original Work (Standard Agreement Form)
PDF Format
Unless otherwise designated, items such as photos, family histories, GEDCOM files, or other items donated to GRHS by their authors may not be duplicated or used in any other way except as interpreted as "free use" under copyright law. Many who make such donations actually intend to give GRHS permission to use their donations more broadly, such as in GRHS publications. Still others wish to donate to GRHS the copyrights themselves or to place their work in the public domain. Donors will now be asked to document their intentions. For donations intended only for the website see below.

Publishing Original Work (Standard Agreement Form)
PDF Format
Work published by GRHS is much the same as a donation. It is normal practice for journals such as the Heritage Review to request that authors transfer their copyrights so that use of their work can be managed and protected by the organization. It is the normal policy of GRHS to give authors permission to republish their or work or portions of it, should they wish to do so later, regardless of whether they have transferred their copyrights.

Donating Works for the GRHS Website
The GRHS website uses different forms for granting permission to use your works on the GRHS website. The following forms are used :

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRA) - Permission to Use
PDF Format
This is the primary form used by contributors to our website. It grants GRHS the right to use the contributed materials on the GRHS website. All types of contributed materials are covered by this form including HTML format.

Simple Release
PDF Format
Even though we encourage contributors to our website to use the IPRA - Permission to use a number of contributors have found the legal language in the IPRA intimidating. To assist contributors the Board has developed a Simple Release to be used in this case. The rights it grants GRHS are slightly different from the IPRA- Permission to Use. All types of contributed materials are covered by this form including HTML format.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRA) - Permission to Use Programming Services
PDF Format
This form is only intended for contributors who will be creating web pages from materials created by other contributors or who will be providing programming services to the GRHS website. It grants GRHS the right to use the contributed services on the GRHS website.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRA) - Transfer of Rights
PDF Format
This form assigns all copyrights for the materials named in this form to GRHS. GRHS can then manage and protect the materials for the contributor. It is the normal policy of GRHS to give contributors permission to republish their or work or portions of it, should they wish to do so later.

It is often the case that a work being contributed might contain photos, maps, or graphics copyrighted by others. It is also possible that a work may be based substantially upon someone else's copyrighted work. In these cases, authors will be asked to secure permission to use the works of others and to provide GRHS with documentation so that the property rights involved will be clearly understood. In deciding whether you should secure permission from a copyright holder this information will be helpful : works created before January 1, 1921 are no longer copyrighted and facts cannot be copyrighted.

Please return signed forms to:

 

Germans from Russia Heritage Society
1125 West Turnpike Avenue
Bismarck
North Dakota 58501
Alternately, we will accept one of the following:

A. Printing the above forms on paper, signing the paper copy, scanning the signed copy at 300dpi resolution and emailing the resulting image to GRHS - rachel @ grhs.org. (no spaces)

B.Printing the above forms on paper, signing the paper copy, faxing the signed copy to GRHS headquarters at (701) 223-4421 and, if you have not included a cover page, emailing the office manager at rachel @ grhs.org to alert her of its arrival.