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Reply To: | A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State history." < [log in to unmask]> |
Date: | Mon, 29 Oct 2001 13:08:49 -0800 |
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>Hello
> I have a question regarding the private sale of public records. I
>think
>that this issue has been discussed in the past on the list. So I
>apologize if I am repeating a previous question.
> Over the past several
>months I have noticed a few public records
>being sold on EBAY. These included an item that was purported to be the
>official town records of a New York State town dating to the 1830s; in
>addition, recently I have seen mid-nineteenth-century court records and
>an election "register" for sale.
> My question is, what is the legal status of these sales? Do the
>relevant governments, for example, the town in the case of the town
>records, have
>any legal claim on these documents? Or are they simply private property?
>
>
>Thanks
>Ian McGiver
Ian
EBAY poses an interesting problem -- and in some cases,
opportunity. The issue of public records is interesting; I wrote
about this in my editorial for History News, Fall, 2001, and about
the issue of replevin.
carol
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