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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am a small town lawyer so I probably have a bit
of info on this matter. Whether you officially copyright your words or not
as soon as you put your words down on paper (or electronically) you have a
copyright over them. No one else can use your words without your
permission. You would have to make a specific deal (we lawyers call it a
contract) with Trail journals to sell/give/transfer your copyright to
them. I checked the Trail Journals site and there is nothing like
that. Therefore, when you publish on line you do not loose or transfer
your copyright automatically. When you publish on
line you widely distribute your words so the value of your
copyright may be diminished. Several years ago an Australian guy
wrote a book called Dances with Marmots chronicling his PCT hike and he couldn't
get it published so he put it on line. He eventually published it. I
already had a copy of his book in electronic form so he lost at least one
potential customer. Even though he originally published his book on
line he did not loose his copyright. No one could use those words without
his permission. When someone publishes on line there is a general
understanding that there is going to be some copyright infringement. For
example, if I am reading your journal and I think you have a very well written
story I might cut and paste it into a letter to friend. I notice that Yogi
regularly quotes from journals in her guide and you would have to ask her what
she does to avoid copyright infringement.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you have any more questions feel free to
ask.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Trouble</FONT></DIV>
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