HomeMy WebLinkAboutDirector of Naval History
~
\~
DIRECTOR OF NAVAL HISTORY AND
CURATOR FOR THE NAVY DEPARTMENT
MAR:3 '~n
~
.
,
Mrs. Marie Bennett Alsmeyer
1901 Creekwood Drive
Conway, Arkansas 72032
Dear Mrs. Alsmeyer,
Since receiving your welcome letter of 9 Feb-
ruary, Captain Hancock has delivered your fine man-
uscript, The Making of a Wave. I have thoroughly
enjoyed the work which seems to me to be exception
ally well written and to have much interest for
researchers.
With regard to the legal questions you raised,
I can assure you that you and later your heirs will
retain all literary rights in the document unless
these are specifically transferred to another party.
Such rights are sometimes referred to as a "common-
law copyright" and provide legal protection against
unautho~ized reproduction or extensive quotation.
We are less sure on the matter of protecting
you against legal liability for the content of your
work. I can say that we have numerous personal
accounts by naval figures that are extremely frank
in their appraisal of other individuals. In none
of these cases are we aware of legal proceedings
having been initiated and, for that reason, I sus-
pect you may have little to worry about. Neverthe-
less, I also stould note that we are not thoroughly
familiar with this area and that you may want to
consult a qualified attorney if you continue to be
concerned. Until this matter is resolved, I believe
it will be a protection to you if we restricted the
manuscript to official users.
I assume that you have retained a copy of the
work. If not, of course, we would be pleased to
prepare ~ duplicate with your permission and send
it to ArKansas.
MAR ~ >>Ii
Because of your experience in the Navy, it also
occurs to me that you may like to have the enclosed
list of our publications. Should you note an item
or two that would be of interest, it would be a
pleasure to forward copies as a small token of our
appreciation.