By my understanding of Canadian copyright law, the edited and annotated transcriptions would be considered a new creation, and copyright would be held by the creator. For example, if you had a researcher come to your institution, make copies of original correspondence, then edited and annotated them as you described and published them, copyright in the work would lie with the researcher, not your institution. That's one of the reasons copyright is not indefinite; so that once a work enters public domain, it can be used to inspire new creations based on the work (such as Disney did with the works of the Brothers Grimm). Canadian copyright law is currently under review; one of the chief criticisms the proposed amendments is that it would delay entry into public domain the personal papers of a number of significant Canadians from the early part of the 20th C.--an era that one prominent Canadian historian specializes in--restricting their use in new publications. ------------------------------------------------------------ Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery 1302 Bomford Crescent S.W. Medicine Hat, AB T1A 5E6 (403) 502-8587 >>> [log in to unmask] 08/19/03 03:40PM >>> While the subject is still fresh in our minds, can anyone offer advice on how exactly the law applies to written material? I'm speaking of handwritten historical documents, clearly in the public domain timewise, but owned by a particular organization, institution, or site. When transcribed, edited, and annotated (which involves, clearly, a great deal of supplemental research, and the most basic cleaning-up, such as adding punctuation), does ownership still reside with the owner of the physical original? Martha David Disclaimer: The information transmitted is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential, proprietary and/or privileged material. Any unauthorized review, distribution or other use of or the taking of any action in reliance upon this information is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete or destroy this message and any copies. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).