Re: US Govt Licensing (was licensing)

This may be a stale subject by now, but it came up at OSSI in 
relationship to work we're doing with Government members.

The following information came from an email I found while researching 
the subject. Jan, you may want to comment on it.


Newsgroups: comp.lang.tcl
Date: 2002-06-21 13:50:38 PST

> The Federal Government is explicitly forbidden from Copyrighting
> anything they create (they are, however, allowed to have a Copyright
> assigned to them).
> 
>   http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/105.html
> 
> I asked our lawyers about whether or not I would be able to release
> programs that I've written and if I could release them under the GPL.
> Below is our lawyers response.
> 
> 
> Subject: Federal Copyright & the GPL
> To: Thomas.C.Allard
> From: bryan.a.bonner
> 
> 
> Tom,
> 
> [...]  You asked:
> 
>      I would like to release some of the software libraries that I've
>      developed at the Board on my own private web site, and I would prefer
>      to use the GNU Public License.
> 
>      Since this software was developed at and for the Board, am I allowed
>      to release under the GPL (which is, in essence, a copyright license)?
> 
> Tom the software you developed is government property.  As you know,
> 17 U.S.C. 105 states copyright protection is not available for any work of
> the United States Government.  Since the GNU Public License requires
> copyrighting the software as a means to obtain the license, you would not
> be able to put the software libraries on you private web site under the GNU
> Public License.
> 
> You also asked:
> 
>      More specifically, do I as the developer hold a copyright on my
>      software or is it public domain as it was developed by the 
>      Federal Government?
> 
>      If I can't release it under the GPL, can I still post it on my web
>      site as public domain software?
> 
> Since the software was developed for the Board on official time as part of
> your official duties, the software is not "copyrightable" by anyone.  It
> exists in the public domain.
> 
> Yes.  You can still post the software libraries on your private web site as
> public domain software.  However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
> 
>      a)  You cannot post any Board confidential information on your private
> web site.  The software libraries can    contain no confidential material,
> but only material available to the general public.  [...]
> 
>      b)  Should you or others visitors to your site wish to use the
> software you developed for the Board, or any portion thereof, in their
> own software program, if the new software program (which integrates U.S.
> Government software) is ever copyrighted, it should include a
> publication notice indicating which portions of the program belong to the
> United States Government.  According to the United States Copyright Office
> (http://www.loc.gov/copyright):
> 
>      "Works by the U. S. Government are not eligible for U. S. copyright
> protection. For works published on and after March 1, 1989, the previous
> notice requirement for works consisting primarily of one or more U. S.
> Government works has been  eliminated. However, use of a notice on such
> a work will defeat a claim of innocent infringement as previously described
> provided the notice also includes a statement that identifies either
> those portions of the work in which copyright is claimed or those
> portions that constitute U. S. Government material.
> 
>      "Example: © 2000 Jane Brown. Copyright claimed in Chapters 7-10,
> exclusive of U. S. Government maps
> 
>      "Copies of works published before March 1, 1989, that consist
> primarily of one or more works of the U. S. Government should have a
> notice and the identifying statement."
> 
> Any new programs incorporating U.S. Government software should contain
> a similar notice and identifying statement.
> 
> Feel free to post this answer on your personal web site.  [...]
> 
> Bryan
> 
> 
> ---
> rgds-- TA  ([email protected])
> Disclaimer: I don't speak for the Federal Reserve Board.