Are you sure it’s a “real” legend—that is, that it’s truly from the tribe/nation you think it is? You know how sometimes things are attributed to someone or a group, but when you look into it you find it’s actually by Joe Shnabotnik, 1963 . . . it’s just been copied so many times that people misattribute it! :)
You might really want to do a pretty thorough search online and see if you can find the earliest date and source for it. If it is from a known source, then you can ask for permission, or if it’s already public domain.  If you can’t find the author, you can put “author unknown” or “traditional” or some other designation that shows you didn’t make it up but no one knows exactly who the original author was.
I’m sure you’ve already thought of this, so this is just my 1/2 a cent. (Not sure it’s worth two whole cents.)
—FM

Hi, FM - at what point do you give up? I've found this "legend" on at least
2 dozen other websites. All of them attribute it to an unknown author. Now,
some of these websites have copyright restrictions (one must request
permission in writing to use it), but others give blanket permission to "use
whatever you like" from this website (as long as you don't get paid for it
or sell it; that's understood).

This isn't the first time I've come across a passage that I would like to
use, and I can't track down an original source, although I can find the
passage in a hundred different places, (well, I'm given to exaggeration a
bit) where it's been lifted and reposted (with or without permission?) With
the sheer magnitude of the Internet, one can click on links for years trying
to find that one illusive owner. So at what point is it acceptable/safe to
stop  trying and does it become "fair game" to use with merely the citation
of "author unknown?"

Sheila

-----Original Message-----
From: D'Andrea Frances Mary
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 2:12 PM
To: Amato Sheila ; AERNET
Subject: Re: [AERNet] copyright question

Are you sure it’s a “real” legend—that is, that it’s truly from the
tribe/nation you think it is? You know how sometimes things are attributed
to someone or a group, but when you look into it you find it’s actually by
Joe Shnabotnik, 1963 . . . it’s just been copied so many times that people
misattribute it! :)
You might really want to do a pretty thorough search online and see if you
can find the earliest date and source for it. If it is from a known source,
then you can ask for permission, or if it’s already public domain.  If you
can’t find the author, you can put “author unknown” or “traditional” or some
other designation that shows you didn’t make it up but no one knows exactly
who the original author was.
I’m sure you’ve already thought of this, so this is just my 1/2 a cent. (Not
sure it’s worth two whole cents.)
—FM

This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

I would suggest reaching out to the Joseph Campbell Foundation. They are experts in the domain of international mythology and tradition stories.

https://www.jcf.org

Sean Tikkun
stikkun@niu.edu

Assistant Project Director
Project VITALL & UEBOT Team
Northern Illinois University
uebot.niu.edu

On 3/8/17, 3:54 PM, "AERNet on behalf of Sheila Amato" <aernet-bounces@lists.aerbvi.org on behalf of brltrans@frontier.com> wrote:

Hi, FM - at what point do you give up? I've found this "legend" on at least 
2 dozen other websites. All of them attribute it to an unknown author. Now, 
some of these websites have copyright restrictions (one must request 
permission in writing to use it), but others give blanket permission to "use 
whatever you like" from this website (as long as you don't get paid for it 
or sell it; that's understood).

This isn't the first time I've come across a passage that I would like to 
use, and I can't track down an original source, although I can find the 
passage in a hundred different places, (well, I'm given to exaggeration a 
bit) where it's been lifted and reposted (with or without permission?) With 
the sheer magnitude of the Internet, one can click on links for years trying 
to find that one illusive owner. So at what point is it acceptable/safe to 
stop  trying and does it become "fair game" to use with merely the citation 
of "author unknown?"

Sheila

-----Original Message----- 
From: D'Andrea Frances Mary
Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 2:12 PM
To: Amato Sheila ; AERNET
Subject: Re: [AERNet] copyright question

Are you sure it’s a “real” legend—that is, that it’s truly from the 
tribe/nation you think it is? You know how sometimes things are attributed 
to someone or a group, but when you look into it you find it’s actually by 
Joe Shnabotnik, 1963 . . . it’s just been copied so many times that people 
misattribute it! :)
You might really want to do a pretty thorough search online and see if you 
can find the earliest date and source for it. If it is from a known source, 
then you can ask for permission, or if it’s already public domain.  If you 
can’t find the author, you can put “author unknown” or “traditional” or some 
other designation that shows you didn’t make it up but no one knows exactly 
who the original author was.
I’m sure you’ve already thought of this, so this is just my 1/2 a cent. (Not 
sure it’s worth two whole cents.)
—FM

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com 


You are subscribed to AERNet, The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired Listserv.

To post a message to all the list members, send an email to aernet@lists.aerbvi.org.

Address list requests to:  aernet-request@lists.aerbvi.org

To unsubscribe from this list, go to http://lists.aerbvi.org/mailman/listinfo/aernet_lists.aerbvi.org and follow instructions to unsubscribe. Go to the same address to access the list archives.
_______________________________________________
AERNet mailing list
AERNet@lists.aerbvi.org
http://lists.aerbvi.org/mailman/listinfo/aernet_lists.aerbvi.org