NOAA can't even get the weather right much of the time !

I was advised in August by NOAA that they had removed all reference to me and my blog from this report. I guess this goes to show that their word is not honorable...

Doesn't NOAA claiming it as a NOAA owned vessel fall into the same category that he US Gov owned ships are always owned by the US Gov?

Like the San Diego?

Kim,

Sorry to go off-topic on your post, but when I see that someone (NOAA) is using the their power as a government agency to lie or bully I get really angry.

I'm not a lawyer, but I own a commercial video production company, plus I write, so I deal with copyright frequently.

As you probably know, just because something is on the web DOES NOT mean it is public information. By that reasoning, you could steal copies of TV shows off of network websites, movies off of Hollywood websites, and written reporting off the NY Times website and re-publish it as your own newspaper. You could also take things from the public library and copy it, since that's just as public as the internet. That line of reasoning is total Bull$*@t.

Posting on the web is not called "Submitting to the Public Domain." It is called "PUBLISHING."

If you have written it, as the author, you automatically own the copyright. Unless you have agreed to give the copyright to someone else. Period.

Anyone who steals your material is violating Federal law and you can file a complaint against them. If you have a copyright notice on your website, you can sue them for both actual damages and punitive damages. Without the copyright notice, you can only sue for actual damages, so always put a copyright notice on your blog. (Make sure it says "Copyright by your name, 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED." Don't just write "This page is copyrighted.")

Under copyright law, their is something called "fair use" and they can quote you. How much content they can take for a quote is grey area. A few lines or paragraphs is probably okay, but a few chapters probably isn't. But they can't take your work and present it as their own.

Bottom line however, is that like kids posting photos of their drunken parties on facebook, what you post online can be easily found and used against you.

Safe diving, and keep writing your blog. I read it and I never have stolen it.

The question is what are they going to do with the copyrighted information they took from my website without my consent? Futhermore, when I was asked if wanted any credit for assisting them, I refused any gratius for any conclusions they surmounted by identifying the wreck in one dive without any concrete evidence. Lots of wrecks have been misnamed in the past by this method. A likely sumation, but not positively identified with any artifact with manufacturers serial numbers.

Did they even check the wreck just north of the site which is very simular in size to that also with an unsual engine? Probably some other paddlewheeler but worth checking before confirming identity.

NOAA will continue to do what they want with no restrictions...spending your money to do so... As in a study on the Stolt Dagali, to determine if a tanker was leaking coagulated solidified vegetable oil. How much money was wasted to publish a 42 page report on the obvious.

Good Wreck Diving!
Atlantic Diver