FAQs

Fred Langan recently retired as host of CBC News Nightly Business Report, which had the largest viewing audience in Canada. A distinguished correspondent and author, he now writes books.
Click here to see Monika answer Fred's questions about MyFamilyMemoirs.com.

Is there someone I can contact for advice on creating a Military Memoir?
Yes. Joseph Welsh, better known as Brasso, is Military Adviser to MyFamilyMemoirs.com.
You can e-mail him directly with questions about the site and how to use it.

What is a copyright?
Copyright is the exclusive right to copy a creative work or allow someone else to do so. It includes the sole right to publish, produce or reproduce, and to perform the work in public.

At MFM to what does copyright apply?
To all original, literary, and artistic works. These include books, other writings like diaries, eulogies, captions to photos, photographs, videos audio recordings such as CDs, DVDs, cassettes and tapes.

Who is the owner of the copyright?
The subscriber/creator of the work on the MFM website. For creative work transferred from Youtube, see answer to question 10 under To Our Subscribers below.

How do I obtain copyright?
You acquire copyright automatically when your create an Original work. (See answer to next question below.)

Does the creator have to do anything to be protected?
No. (See above) You are automatically protected by law. The onus is on anyone who claims the copyright is not yours to prove this in court. If you feel that someone might contest your copyright in court, for example over old family photos, MFM provices the service of registering the copyright for you with the Canadian Government for a fee of $100.00. Creators should, be aware of the fact that sophisticated web technology has made it relatively easy for those who wish to make illegal use of and/or sometimes illegally profit from copyrighted works. This has been a particular problem in the music industry. To be fully protected in case you wish to sue or protect yourself through other court action, register online:
Canada Copyright Office
U.S. Copyright Office

Do I need to mark my work with a notice of copyright?
We automatically mark your work with the symbol for copyright when you start it on MFM.com. When the work is finished the name of the copyright owner and the year of publication should be included near the beginning of the work. This is not necessary in all countries but it is in some. It serves as another general reminder that the work is protected by copyright.

Is the copyright valid in all countries?
Yes, as long as the country in question belongs to one or more of the international copyright treaties, conventions and organization. These include the Berne Convention, the Universal Copyright Convention, The Rome convention and the World Trade Organization. These international Conventions, treaties and organinzations include most countries in the world.

*The above information was obtained from the Canadian government Intellectual property office and the US Copyright office.


To Our Subscribers

Our web design team has done its best to make the myfamilymemoir site practical and user friendly but its you, our subscribers who are helping us to perfect it. Below are some of the excellent questions you have sent with our answers. Please continue to let us know any problems you experience and let us know what we can do to make your work on the site as easy as possible. Look in our archives to see the fabulous results.

How do I add a photo into my profile?
Step 2 of the memoir wizard is called Upload Images. That is the section you use to upload your images. The icons on that step clearly indicate all of the options a person has.

What size and what type of files can I upload?
Most people would be uploading jpg or gif files. The size of the files isn't really relevant, but if they are too small (less than 1 mb) they won't look good. If they are too big (larger than 5 mb) they will take too long to upload.

Can I upload or establish a link for my own slide shows/videos?
That can be done by creating a video slide. Once you have created the video slide, there are integrated instructions on that slide for embedding video files.

How do I arrange my photos?
In the memoir wizard, create a new folder. Once you have done that, follow step 2 and select an image thumbnail; then select the Move button and follow the on screen instructions.

Where can I enter text message/notes?
Every chapter slide has zones for entering various types of text with labels.

How do I upload videos to the site?
You can't actually upload any videos to the site. You have to link videos from YouTube. Use the memoir creation tool. Go to step 3. Add a new chapter and select one that offers video inclusion. Once you have done that, click on the icon of the director's movie slate and it will open a new window which will allow you to insert the link to your YouTube video.

How do I upload chapters of text?
The easiest way is to use a Word document version of the chapter or book and copy and paste it right into the memoir wizard's text box. The text box can accept much more text than what is shown in the visible area.

I would like to give my memoir a final edit, including spell check when it is completed. Is there a spell check on the site?
The system does not have a spell check feature. It is recommended that all copy be spell checked in a program such as Word before being transferred to the memoir wizard.

Where are the settings that allow me to prevent people from e-mailing me?
This setting is managed on Step 1 of the Memoir Wizard under the Privacy Options.

Who owns the copyright on my memoir videos that have been transferred from Youtube?
If you are the creator of a memoir and you put in on our site the copyright automatically belongs to you and we stamp it as such. With videos that have been transferred from Youtube the copyright also belongs to the creator unless he/she has waived the right to Youtube or given it to someone else. Creators of video memoirs copyrighted on www.myfamilymemoirs.com are personally responsible for insuring that they get permission to use an material, e.g. music, which is copyrighted by someone else. See FAQ "At MFM to what does copyright apply?"

How do you leave a comment for a memoir?
The author of each memoir has an option to allow subscribers to be able to e-mail him/her. If that feature has been enabled, an envelope show up in the lower corner of your public access memoir. If the author has provided that option, the Contact Author icon immediately launches the address specified by the author to receive e-mail from www.myfamilymemoirs.com readers.

How do you rate a memoir?
To rate a memoir - simply click on the stars (on a rating from 1 to 5) in the lower right corner of the memoir you are viewing.