Do look ups break copyright?

Many customers of my web site do look ups for other peope, and one of you has asked whether this breaches the copyright of the site. The straight answer is "Yes".

The reason is that information on the web site is for private research, and not for publishing - whether for gain or not. Doing look ups, and passing the results to a third party, is "publishing".

I guess the question is "Does this matter?" After all, it is quite impractical for me as an individual to pursue every perceived breach through the courts. If anyone were daft enough to offer one of my CD's for sale, say via eBay, then I probably would take action. Except for that case, then anyone who breaches the copyright in this way is unlikely to face any penalty.

So, "Does it matter?" The trouble is that this sort of breach of copyright does damage (by reducing funding) to what I am trying to do - which is to improve access to printed local and family history sources from the Midlands. Local libraries cannot afford to do what I am doing, and are unlikley to be able to do so in the foreseable future because of budget cuts caused by the current economic circumstances.

I could react in two ways. I can pursue people who breach copyright through the courts, but this is costly and, in any event, is no way to treat customers. The other is to change what I do to limit the risks, and I have already made a few changes. For example, because of the risk of of piracy I do not offer the electoral roll on CD. I probably should also increase security and require everyone to accept a long winded set of "Terms and Conditions", but in truth, I can't be bothered. Anyone who is of a mind to steal the information will do so. Perhaps I should increase prices to compensate for "leakage". None of which is in line with my aim to offer exemplary customer service.

The real risk is to the future of the web site. If revenue is reduced through copyright breaches then the opportunities for future investment are reduced, and ultimately the site will fail. I think that would be a shame - and actually, anyone who is doing look ups tacitly agrees, since the implication of this activity is that the information is useful.

Consequently, I'd like to ask anyone who is involved in doing look ups for others on my web site not to do so - please. It may seem harmless, and a service to others, but it isn't.