Paleontologists have always struck me as unusual in that they seem to genuinely welcome the contributions of the field's dedicated amateurs and serious-minded enthusiasts. I began work on The Theropod Archives in part to give something back to a scientific community that has made me feel at home (this despite my complete lack of formal training), but also because I believe there is a very real need among those who study dinosaurs to have improved access to a rapidly expanding body of research. In toiling on this project, I have tried to develop a model with the potential to serve as a useful resource without infringing on the rights and intellectual property of others. That said, I quickly learned that copyright law is exceedingly complicated. Certainly where the United States is concerned, it is both difficult and costly to determine whether older works remain protected through copyright extensions or have entered into the public domain. I understand that a vast majority of works published prior to 1964 are indeed in the public domain, as is nearly everything published prior to 1923, but that's the limit of what I know "definitively." It grew even more confusing as I looked into the law in other countries.
It is possible that in making the decision to offer PDFs of older works directly, I may inadvertently be violating copyright law. It is certainly not my intent. The Theropod Archives is in no way a money-making endeavor. Nor do I have any desire to cheat publishers out of their fair share. The idea is simply to give researchers an awareness of works known to exist in electronic form, and where feasible, to facilitate access to those works that are already freely available from a number of disparate sources, or are old enough to be in the public domain.
Having established the spirit in which I have approached the project, I must now say that if you are directly connected to a work I have made available on this site and in any way object to its inclusion, please notify me and I will remove it at my absolute earliest opportunity. If a polite inquiry directed through the appropriate channels is all that's needed to legitimize its appearance, perhaps you will consider working with me to accomplish this? I am also willing to post specific language governing terms of use in accordance with any policies you may have.
A note about links I have supplied to externally stored documents. For the convenience of the researcher, I have linked directly to a number of PDFs that were found to be freely available online through seemingly legitimate sources. In an effort to balance the convenience of direct and immediate access with a desire to give credit where it is due, I have supplied in each such instance an additional link to the source of the PDF file. This secondary link may be to the home page of a journal offering free access to the document, to the CV page of a paleontologist on which the file is presented, or to some other logical top-level URL. Further, the direct PDF link will include a visual cue (in the form of an adjacent arrow) so that the user is aware that the file is being delivered from an external Web site. I hope these measures provide an equitable solution all around.
Finally, the menacing carnivore shown on the home page of The Theropod Archives is the work of fantasy artist Duane O. Myers. I purchased a second copyright allowing me to use this particular work in September 2005. No part of the image may be reproduced or used in any way without written permission from the artist. Visit Duane's official Web site at http://www.duanemyers.com/. There are two or three more stellar dinosaur paintings to be found among his image galleries. If you're a fan of science fiction and fantasy cover art, it's well worth the click!