How much information is too much?

[treasure1822]

Well my quest for 'BOOTS ON THE GROUND" has hit a snag. After contacting the land owner with the most limited introduction, they prefer to just not talk to me.
I basically said I may have information of historical importance about their property. How do I approach them with with what I have without giving it all to them.

 

[chalkoutline]

Well my quest for 'BOOTS ON THE GROUND" has hit a snag. After contacting the land owner with the most limited introduction, they prefer to just not talk to me.
I basically said I may have information of historical importance about their property. How do I approach them with with what I have without giving it all to them.

I would treat it like sales...
Construct a carefully crafted letter to introduce yourself, the research you've conducted and why you think its important to them.
Provide your contact information and drop into the mailbox.

Typically it takes 3 attempts to get a response.

 

[treasure1822]

I would treat it like sales...
Construct a carefully crafted letter to introduce yourself, the research you've conducted and why you think its important to them.
Provide your contact information and drop into the mailbox.

Typically it takes 3 attempts to get a response.

You say three attempts to get a response...My first letter was to whom I thought was the current land owner, there was no response...I have found that that information pertaining land ownership in the area I am looking is a little laxed in updating. After realizing who the currents owners were I had decided to contact via instant messenger. Not much better on that, pretty much a thumbs down but I did not go into detail of my research...How much do I give away as for information?

 

[chalkoutline]

How much do I give away as for information?

When reaching out for the first time, i always use USPS because email, calls, texts are easily blocked. Although a bit old school, the mail always gets through.

This is how I approach the land owner...
Give them enough information to convince them you're the guy and you've narrowed it down to their property.

Expect them to search for themselves. When they can't find it they'll realize they need your expertise and reach out to you.

Keep the first face to face focused on contractual issues/negotiation. Make it short because they will use the meeting to pump you for more clues and try again.

Before talking to anyone, you should protect your research with a poor man's patent by putting your research in an envelope and seal all flaps/edges with packing tape. Send it registered mail to yourself and sign for it so transaction is dated by an official government entity. This proves you are the originator/owner of the research inside.
Do not open unless you need to go to court.

 

[chalkoutline]

response...My first letter was to whom I thought was the current land owner,

The local library may have resources to help you identify the current land owner.

You can also use a historical society to find the property on a platt map then go to the recorder of deeds to trace the grantor/grantees up to the present.

 

[treasure1822]

When reaching out for the first time, i always use USPS because email, calls, texts are easily blocked. Although a bit old school, the mail always gets through.

This is how I approach the land owner...
Give them enough information to convince them you're the guy and you've narrowed it down to their property.

Expect them to search for themselves. When they can't find it they'll realize they need your expertise and reach out to you.

Keep the first face to face focused on contractual issues/negotiation. Make it short because they will use the meeting to pump you for more clues and try again.

Before talking to anyone, you should protect your research with a poor man's patent by putting your research in an envelope and seal all flaps/edges with packing tape. Send it registered mail to yourself and sign for it so transaction is dated by an official government entity. This proves you are the originator/owner of the research inside.
Do not open unless you need to go to court.

I like your idea of the "Poor mans Patent" and I will do this within the week...Thank You for the valuable information...

 

[Carl-NC]

Before talking to anyone, you should protect your research with a poor man's patent by putting your research in an envelope and seal all flaps/edges with packing tape. Send it registered mail to yourself and sign for it so transaction is dated by an official government entity. This proves you are the originator/owner of the research inside.

Courts do not recognize this as proof, ever. The "poor man's patent" is worthless, for patents or otherwise. Get a lawyer, follow his advice. You may be able to file your document with the copyright office, they require a complete copy and it is not published, and is accepted as proof in litigations.

Keep in mind that Bedford County landowners have heard it all before, 1000 times, and many have had nighthawkers digging up their property. Probably most recognize the story as a hoax and aren't likely to believe anything less than massively overwhelming evidence. Odds are not in your favor.

 

[treasure1822]

Courts do not recognize this as proof, ever. The "poor man's patent" is worthless, for patents or otherwise. Get a lawyer, follow his advice. You may be able to file your document with the copyright office, they require a complete copy and it is not published, and is accepted as proof in litigations.

Keep in mind that Bedford County landowners have heard it all before, 1000 times, and many have had nighthawkers digging up their property. Probably most recognize the story as a hoax and aren't likely to believe anything less than massively overwhelming evidence. Odds are not in your favor.

I thank you for your advise I do appreciate it. May I ask you a question, why do you say "Bedford County", the papers don't say that...

 

[Carl-NC]

May I ask you a question, why do you say "Bedford County", the papers don't say that...

Bedford County is supposedly where the Beale treasure is buried.

 

[treasure1822]

Bedford County is supposedly where the Beale treasure is buried.

That is an assumption, the papers say "in the county of Bedford". People assume that the papers are referring to Bedford county VA because the papers were published in Lynchburg VA. What if it wasn't...

 

[Carl-NC]

Then your hurdle is even higher. At face value, the story seems preposterous. It would be more so if the treasure is assumed to be buried somewhere else.

 

[treasure1822]

Then your hurdle is even higher. At face value, the story seems preposterous. It would be more so if the treasure is assumed to be buried somewhere else.

Not necessarily, what if key letter or a word were left out...It changes the whole narrative. People can be led down bad or false paths, man assumes but never questions...in the book of Proverbs, Chapter 14 Verse15..."The simple believes every word, the intelligent gives thoughts to his step"...do those two numbers look familiar?1/4...1/5...January 4th, January 5th...actually easier if it's buried somewhere else...

 

[souce19]

Not necessarily, what if key letter or a word were left out...It changes the whole narrative. People can be led down bad or false paths, man assumes but never questions...in the book of Proverbs, Chapter 14 Verse15..."The simple believes every word, the intelligent gives thoughts to his step"...do those two numbers look familiar?1/4...1/5...January 4th, January 5th...actually easier if it's buried somewhere else...

I’d bet almost anything that it’s not buried in Virginia. I did have my notes, research, and my thesis notarized. That was my attempt at establishing prior discovery. Perhaps that’s an option for anyone else too. I wish I could explain all of my findings but I won’t in this forum. Like others, I’ve narrowed it down to a few acres of land. It is currently owned by someone else. Now I I have to silently wait until the property ever goes on the market, or try to engage the owners. The wait is the hardest part.

 

[Carl-NC]

I did have my notes, research, and my thesis notarized. That was my attempt at establishing prior discovery.

I always love these bizarre ideas of establishing "rights." The only thing a notarization does is validate your identity and signature. In no way does it establish any contents in the document, probably even if you had every page of the document individually notarized. The copyright office is the proper way to do this.

 

[souce19]

The notary was to establish that I have the documents that I say I do, that an entity of the state can validate that I presented said articles to them, and they bore witness to the contents being presented at that date and time. It may be trivial, but a notary can be called as a witness and testify to the validity of that claim. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing, in my opinion.

 

[chalkoutline]

Actually...
Copyright law protects the expression of ideas (the specific words, drawings, or layouts in your documents), but it does not protect the underlying facts, ideas, or physical discoveries. Therefore, if someone reads your research and figures out the location, copyright infringement does not stop them from physically digging up and taking the loot

Your research needs to be treated as a trade secret and only shared once the intended recipient signs a NDA.

Google AI...
Yes, you should absolutely treat it as a confidential secret and require a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before sharing your findings.

 

[Carl-NC]

The notary was to establish that I have the documents that I say I do, that an entity of the state can validate that I presented said articles to them, and they bore witness to the contents being presented at that date and time. It may be trivial, but a notary can be called as a witness and testify to the validity of that claim. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing, in my opinion.

Unless the notary read, memorized, and can recite from memory everything you wrote, you'd find that tactic to be uncomfortably close to nothing in a courtroom. It's useless, no court will recognize this as evidence of anything other than you signed a piece of paper on that date.

Copyright law protects the expression of ideas (the specific words, drawings, or layouts in your documents), but it does not protect the underlying facts, ideas, or physical discoveries.

I think that's what folks are talking about -- the desire to legally prove they are the originator of some theory or solution they've come up with. It's a moot point, because anyone else can come up with the same theory or solution in their own words. Being able to prove you thought of it first is pretty meaningless.

 

[souce19]

Unless the notary read, memorized, and can recite from memory everything you wrote, you'd find that tactic to be uncomfortably close to nothing in a courtroom. It's useless, no court will recognize this as evidence of anything other than you signed a piece of paper on that date.


I think that's what folks are talking about -- the desire to legally prove they are the originator of some theory or solution they've come up with. It's a moot point, because anyone else can come up with the same theory or solution in their own words. Being able to prove you thought of it first is pretty meaningless.

I understand your point, but a rebuttal would be that the notary keeps their notary book. They write down the titles of the papers or what they are notarizing which explains what was presented in that moment. By doing so, this notary can say on this date and this time I notarized and certified that this research (insert title) was presented to them and verified by them. I still believe that’s more meaningful in court than nothing. Or saying I made this connection and this is my intellectual property, having a third party who is an extension of the state corroborating this. Without it, there’s no state verified proof that I made this claim. Saying a notary completely useless seems like a rudimentary understanding of the law. Notaries would be rendered completely useless under the above logic.

 

[Carl-NC]

I never said a notary is useless, just useless for the purpose you are trying to use one for. Their purpose is to validate that you signed a document, of your own free will, on a certain date. Most notaries don't read the document you are signing, and it's not their purpose to ensure anything about the document. If you went into a courtroom, the first thing an opponent will ask your notary is, "Has this document you notarized been altered in any way?" Their answer will have to be, "I have no idea."

It's proof of nothing other than your signature. If you want actual court-ready proof, file a copy with the Copyright office. The contents are recorded and dated and will hold up in court. There are also blockchain-type services but I know nothing about them.

 

[chalkoutline]

The subject question is being asked because the TNET member believes they have solved the ciphers and they want to contact the landowner for permission to.
1. if they don't share enough, the landowner will not give permission.
2. If too much is shared, the landowner will dig the treasure alone.
So the question is how to legally protect the information in the event of #2.

According to Google AI...
Only an NDA. The research must be treated as a trade secret.

The following will not
1. Registered/dated letter with research to self
2. Notarized/dated research
3. Copyrighted research